Facade
by Blue-eyed Fox
Summary: Four years have passed since Naruto left with Jiraiya to train. However, the real reason why he left the Hidden Village of Leaf was because of a certain shinobi. Now, two ANBU members will vie for his heart…Starbucks for my muse anyone?
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Façade

**Author:** Blue-eyed Fox

**Warning:** Yaoi, Shounen-ai (Male/Male romance), OOC major, and a lot of swearing I presume would happen along the way… (Sheepish smile)

**Pairing(s):** Kaka/Naru, Ita/Naru among others. Still undecided on others…

**Genre:** Romance, Drama, Angst, General, among others… (sweatdrops)

**Summary:**

Four years have passed since Naruto left with Jiraiya to train. However, the real reason why he left the Hidden Village of Leaf was because of a certain shinobi. Now, two ANBU members will vie for his heart….

**Authoress' Note:**

I drew inspiration from shi-chan and Agni. So I know that there may be parts here that may be or somewhat familiar… So please don't sue me, I only have lint in my pockets…

Okay, in this fic, Naruto is 14 years of age when he left Konoha to train with Jiraiya and thus when he comes back, Naruto-kun is already 18 years old.

Kakashi on the other hand… Well, I made him younger alongside the other 20 something chuunins and jounins… Therefore, in this fic, the age gap of Kakashi and Naruto is only 8 years so that makes Kakashi 26 years old. (I really don't want to think of Kakashi being 30 something you know… I'm in denial…)

In addition, Sasuke never left Konoha to side with the perverted Snake sannin who has a demented taste in clothing. Just think, BIG, PURPLE BOW on his BUTT!

**Orochimaru:** Hey! I heard that!

**Blue:** Shut up!

**Orochimaru:** (sniffles)

**Blue:** There, there, here let's have some lemonade… Naruto-kun, kindly recite the **disclaimers** for me…(huge grin)

**Naruto:** Standards apply… She doesn't own Naruto; though I wish she did then Sakura-chan would be downright dating Rock Lee:P

**Blue:** So does this mean you agree with most of your yaoi-fans?

**Naruto:** (Blushes incredulously)

**Blue:** Aww… Isn't that cute! (Waves a hand to all of Naruto's seme's) Look here! Naruto doesn't mind being paired up with all you!

**Naruto:** Kyaa!!! (Runs away as fast he can)

**Neji, Kiba, Sasuke, Gaara, Kakashi, Itachi, Shino, Iruka, Haku, Kabuto, Shikamaru, etc:** (eyes glinting in an evil manner as they start to chase a horrified looking Naruto)

**Blue:** Oh well, on with the fic! (Throws confetti)

**Legend:**

_:…:_ Naruto's conversation with Kyuubi.

"…" Mental thoughts.

* * *

- - - - - - - -

Chapter 1

**- - - - - - - - **

* * *

It was a calm morning in the country of Fire.

From a distance, two figures were walking side by side, as they made their way to the gates of the Hidden Village of Leaf.

"We're here! Home sweet home!" Jiraiya mused as he looked at Naruto.

The duo had arrived earlier than expected. They arrived around past eight in the morning at the gates of Konoha. Birds were chirping and the sun was shining brightly. From the distance, they could faintly hear the sound of the townspeople as they made through their everyday lives.

Naruto just grinned as he looked up to the gates of Konoha.

"_Home sweet home indeed."_ Naruto thought. His eyes hinted sadness and sorrow, grief and anger however, as quick as it appeared, it disappeared as he looked at the toad sannin. "So, where to now?" Naruto asked.

"Well, its best if we dropped by the old hag's first." Jiraiya grinned as they entered the gates of Konoha. Jiraiya noted the emotions that appeared in those deep pools of blue.

"You saying _that_ is going to break the old hag's heart if she hears you." Naruto commented whilst smiling.

"Well now, if I remember correctly, you're the one who called her that way first." Jiraiya retorted.

"Yeah I did. But now… Now it's different. Calling her 'Baa-chan' sounded nice and funny." Naruto smiled as he remembered the old days. "But now, I have to admit that I've grown to respect her even more."

Jiraiya had to smile. Naruto had indeed changed a lot during the past four years. Not to mention, the boy had improved drastically in his training. Heck! One can never really tell unless they had faced-off with the boy. Naruto, who had seemed to perfect the art of masking himself, hiding his true abilities impressively. He was far stronger than he used to be, faster and deadlier. But nonetheless, some habits really don't go away.

He never really found out the reason why Naruto asked, well literally begged him to go with him in his travels. He really didn't want to but the look on Naruto's eyes back then told him otherwise.

He was shook out of his musing when Naruto paused in his tracks and said,

"Ano sa, ano sa! Shall we go visit Tsunade-nee-chan now? I really want to see how she's doing."

Jiraiya gave out a hearty laugh as he nodded. The two jumped up the nearest making their way to the Hokage Tower.

"I'm sure Tsunade would be surprised when she sees you. She misses you terribly you know." Jiraiya said as they jumped from one roof to another as they landed gracefully at the steps of the tower and made their way to the Hokage's office.

"Ready?" Jiraiya peered at Naruto who gave a cheerful nod as he knocked at the Oak door. They heard Tsunade's voice as she giving them permission to enter.

Jiraiya slowly opened the door and entered followed by Naruto.

"Tsunade-nee-chan!" Naruto grinned as he saw Tsunade sitting behind her desk amass the paperwork that piled up neatly in front of her, thanks for Shizune for that matter.

Tsunade looked up from the piles of paperwork as her eyes widened at the sight before her.

"Naruto!" Tsunade jumped up from her chair her eyes brightening up as she gathered Naruto in her arms for a rib-crushing bear hug.

Shizune who was also there inside the office was wiping away her tears as she watched the two. It was like the reunion of two long lost siblings after being separated for a long time.

"Nee… -chan… Can't… Breathe…" Naruto gasped as tried to escape from Tsunade's clutches.

"Ah! Gomen! Gomen!" Tsunade said as he ruffled Naruto's golden locks. Naruto pouted cutely as Tsunade messed with his hair. "Oh my god, Naruto! You've grown! Jiraiya! What have you done to Naruto?!"

"Ha-ha-ha! Four years certainly does a lot of changes to a boy who was in the stage of puberty when he left Tsunade!" Jiraiya said as he earned a scowl from Naruto and a light punch on the arm from Shizune and Tsunade.

"True, but I must say Naruto-kun, you look amazing!" Shizune piped in as Ton-ton gave out a happy squeak.

Tsunade and Jiraiya for that matter nodded in agreement. Naruto did change… A LOT!

Naruto gave out a cheeky smile as he removed his black cloak that reached his ankles revealing a super sexy figure. Underneath the cloak, Naruto was wearing a breathable turtleneck black shirt with an orange stripe on either side; his black stretch leather-like pants were fitting him perfectly. It was neither too tight nor too loose therefore giving him absolute freedom of movement without constraint.

Shizune was literally drooling at the sight while Tsunade gaped at him. Jiraiya huffed proudly indicating that it was his idea. Naruto looked like a rock star! No! Scratch that! He was a living, breathing, talking, and walking Adonis!

"It seems that you have grown out of the orange jumpsuit eh, Naruto-kun?" Shizune said snapping back to reality.

"Jiraiya-sensei said that I should lose it."

"Naruto insisted that nothing was wrong with the orange jumpsuit until I_forced_ him to try on some similar and different outfits." Jiraiya said as he motioned to the ones that Naruto was wearing.

"Hey! There wasn't anything wrong with the orange jumpsuit!" Naruto pouted.

"Hmph! As if! Whenever you were in that suit, it was as if you had a**"DANGER, COME TO ME!"** banner waving on top of your head, not to mention, it was an eyesore, you stood out like a sore thumb." Jiraiya teased, which of course earned him a punch from Tsunade that sent him flying to the wall. Luckily, Shizune moved about before Jiraiya went flying about in her direction, foreseeing the oncoming doom that the white-haired sannin had placed upon himself.

Naruto smiled and winked at Tsunade for doing that to the toad sannin, the slug sannin herself had to smile, though mentally she somewhat literally agreed with Jiraiya on the "danger" part.

Tsunade then eyed the blonde boy and noticed the changes in him. He was no longer that emaciated 12 year-old she first met and no longer was he that 14 year-old brat who used to give her constant migraines (aside from the ones that gave her even more monstrous migraines were her equally monstrous debts) not to mention, called her 'Baa-chan' or 'Old Hag' for that matter. Naruto was now a little bit more polite and courteous. He studied the boy from head to toe and took into heart the more seemingly obvious changes in the boy.

Naruto now had a gorgeous buildmuscular, almost slender and lithe like, but not as brawny with the likes of Jiraiya. He had grown a foot taller, towering now at 5 feet 9 inches compared from his previous 4 feet 9 inch scrawny built. His features have become more effeminate than manly. The skin on his face was almost flawless, though he still had those whisker marks on his cheeks making him look more vulpine in a sexy way, but despite that fact, his skin seemed to glow. His eyes have become an even more beautiful shade of blue-deep endless pools of blue emanating from those now almond-shaped ones giving him a more vixen look, though mischief and innocence still somehow lingered in them. His lips were tinted pink, almost red like the cherry blossoms. His voice had that airy quality in it that seemed to have a giddying effect to the listener. Naruto had grown his hair a bit, his blonde, sun-kissed locks reached the nape of his long slender neck. His hair was windswept and no longer as unruly like it was before.

Tsunade had to admit it, if she were 30 years younger, she would definitely have pursued the boy! But not in the likes of her apprentice Haruno Sakura and her best friend Ino who were love struck with the Uchiha brat and stalked the boy like there was no tomorrow! She mentally slapped herself as she settled with the fact that Naruto was her lovable adopted little brother.

"Ano sa, ano sa! Nee-chan, how have you been? How's everyone?" Naruto asked as he took a seat on the nearby couch.

"I'm fine Naruto, but now I feel even more better now that I've seen you." Tsunade said with a warm, genuine smile. The 'nee-chan' part had her inwardly floating on cloud nine.

Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his said when he heard that.

"As for everyone," Tsunade continued as she continued to study her favorite brat. "Rookie 9 is still the same."

"So desu…" Naruto said with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"What about you? How have you been? You guys didn't even send a word on your whereabouts… The only thing I've heard from Jiraiya is that you passed and won the Jounin Exam at Cloud Country and for a fact that you've improved." Tsunade drawled as she cast a meaningful yet irritated look at the toad sannin who had just peeled himself off the wall and was now dusting his clothes whilst nursing a bump on his head as he took a seat on one of the chairs in front of Tsunade's desk.

"Eh? Didn't Ero-sennin send you letters?" Naruto asked bemused.

"Really now?" Tsunade said as she threw an empty bottle of sake she concealed somewhere from her desk at Jiraiya's head that didn't see that one coming.

"Ouch! You didn't have to do that Tsunade! And here I was going to surprise you!" Jiraiya said as he pulled out four scrolls and handed them to Tsunade.

Tsunade eyed the scrolls and looked at Jiraiya questioningly before she opened it. Her eyes widened as she studied each of the scrolls right in front of her while from time to time gasping or gaping at it like a goldfish. Shizune, who was standing near the Godaime also took a peek at the scrolls. Her face faulted as her jaw dropped.

"Jiraiya… Are these… Are you sure? These are real right?!" Tsunade asked she looked and double-checked two of the scrolls in front of her.

"Yes Tsunade, those are real. And as you can see on, I've noted everything that Naruto has improved on and achieved. Not to mention, his mission profile is quite impressive, ne?" Jiraiya grinned as he winked at Naruto who was either confused or embarrassed at his current situation.

The first two scrolls weren't that hard to believe since the two were scrolls given to those who passed the Jounin exams the previous year. One was the accomplishment scroll that was given to the Jounins who passed the exam. The other was the scroll given by the Jounin test administrators with their seals of approval who gave their insights and suggestions of the possible higher levels of profession that the recently graduated jounin can further delve into with the use of his/her talents and skills. (1)

The third and fourth scroll however had her reeling.

The third scroll contained all of the skills that Naruto has learned or should I say, mastered in the span of four years. Although during the first year, Naruto basically lived like he was about to drop dead at any given time. I mean, who could blame him? Undergoing rigorous hell-like training under one of the Three Legendary Sannins was not a joke. But all in all, he improved during the two-year training period under the Jiraiya amidst the fact that he had to suffer the cruel fate that he had unintentionally brought upon himself, that is, being hounded by the women who had been victim of Jiraiya's perverted and lecherous acts.

All in all, Naruto made a vow to himself that he would not, he would NEVER in this lifetime or in any other lifetime follow the toad sannin's perverted legacy.

Either way, within the second year of his training, Naruto had been training and practicing like mad. He had studied and perfected all the basic to the most complicated type of jutsu known in all elements as described by Jiraiya was like child's play in Naruto's part. Total chakra control, including Kyuubi's was just like a walk in the park. Not to mention, 10 forbidden jutsus and 20 original ones under his sleeve.

The fourth scroll was proof to all that was mentioned above. It was Naruto's mission profile as a jounin of Leaf doing missions for Cloud and Mist Country. (2)

"59 A-Class, 45 B-Class and 5 S-Class missions! All missions successfully accomplished with no casualties. I must say, I am truly impressed!" Tsunade exclaimed amazement lacing her words. Naruto darted out his tongue as he again scratched the back of his head. (3)

"So, what do you want to be Naruto?" Tsunade said as she eyed the blonde with rapt interest. "ANBU or Hunter-nin?"

Naruto rubbed his chin while he thoughtfully ran over the offer.

"I really don't know. Both sounds cool." Naruto said as he stared at the ceiling.

"Why don't you go for both Naruto?" Jiraiya piped in. All in the room stared at him as if he had lost his mind. (4)

"Wait, is that even possible?" Naruto asked.

"It is, however, it would be strenuous since it would require you to live two lives. Being a Hunter-nin means you have to keep your identity secret from the people around you." Tsunade informed.

"I see. So that means I can either be ANBU or Hunter-nin or BE both right?" Naruto said as the two sannins nodded their heads in agreement. Naruto pondered on the thought for a moment before speaking up.

"I really, really, **REALLY** want to be an ANBU member nee-chan, so for the meantime can we put a tab on the hunter-nin part? I really would like to think it over." Naruto said as he cast a meaningful look at Tsunade.

"Of course Naruto, of course! Wait here, while I get you your uniform." Tsunade said as she stood up and entered a room somewhere in her office. A few minutes later, she came out with a bag and a tattoo needle in hand. Tsunade handed Naruto the bag as she motioned him to use the room where she came out to try on the ANBU uniform.

Naruto's eyes lighted up as he quickly nodded and made his way to the room to change. A few minutes later, Naruto came out of the room draped in his equally sexy ANBU uniform.

The three adults in the room were eyeing him in a way that it made the hair on his neck stand up.

"Oi, don't give me that look. It's creepy, it's like all of you are checking me out!" Naruto said as he quickly made his way back to the couch. All of them just broke in to a grin.

_:What are you giggling about Kyuu-chan?:_ Naruto asked the Kyuubi no Youko who was giggling like mad in her cage.

_:Oh nothing, I can't help but agree with them when they think you're drop-dead sexy gorgeous looking.:_ Kyuubi grinned in her cage.

:Pervert…: Naruto mentally slapped himself. 

_: You know, you should be thanking me for adding details to that gorgeous look of yours:_ Kyuubi rolled her eyes as she swished her tails.

"Naruto, come here for a moment will you. I have to mark you as an official ANBU member, give me your left arm." Tsunade said raising the tattoo needle as Naruto obliged.

It took like around thirty minutes to have the tattoo done on Naruto's left arm. Naruto examined at the tattoo carefully, smiling as he did so. Thanks to Kyuubi, the healing of his slightly swollen left arm hastened.

_:Thanks Kyuu-chan!:_ Naruto mentally thanked Kyuubi for healing his arm.

_:No problem kit.:_ The Fox smiled in its cage.

"You're now officially an ANBU member Uzumaki Naruto a.k.a. _Shadow Fox._" Tsunade smiled at Naruto.

"Shadow Fox, eh… Cool…" Naruto drawled with a silly smile on his face.

"So Naruto, come back here 9am tomorrow and I'll brief you with the rest of the details of your position and you new assignment. And also, for the meantime, like you said, think over the hunter-nin position." Tsunade said as

Naruto nodded.

"And oh by the way," Tsunade quickly added as she glanced at the wall clock. "It's already 9:30 am, I'm sure you'd want to see everyone including Iruka-san, ne? I'm sure most of them are in the Shinobi lounge. Shizune will take you there." Tsunade said seeing the sparkle in Naruto's eyes by the mention of his former sensei's name. Tsunade dared not mention one more name, knowing that might cause the blue-eyed blonde distress. She didn't want that for now seeing that her favorite blonde smiling again.

"Eh! Shinobi lounge? Since when was there a 'Shinobi lounge'?" Naruto inquired.

"You have no idea how those shinobi's keep on whining about having or should I say wishing that coffee breaks and lunch time being more comfortable." Tsunade frowned as she remembered the time when requests and suggestions flooded her office non-stop for a week.

"Ha-ha-ha! You better not spoil them Tsunade or else they would be requesting a movie house built nearby." Jiraiya laughed at the horrified look on Tsunade's face. "Well then Naruto, why don't you run along now with Shizune and go meet all your friends. I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do. I'll go drop by at your place tonight." Jiraiya said as he smiled at Naruto.

Shizune placed Ton-ton on Tsunade's desk as she made her way to the door as Naruto gathered his belongings. He removed the arm protectors and folded them neatly before tucking it safely within his bag. He then again wore his black turtleneck top before putting his cloak again.

"Waaa! Wait! I almost forgot!" Naruto almost panicked as he rummaged in his bag looking for something. Tsunade, Jiraiya and Shizune looked at Naruto with concern.

"What is it Naruto?" Jiraiya asked.

"Ah! There it is!" Naruto said as he took out one small pack and two large parcels from his bag. "Shizune-nee-chan, this is for you!" Naruto beamed as he handed Shizune the parcel as he quickly strode towards Tsunade.

"This is for Ton-ton," Naruto motioned for the small package in his hands before he handed Tsunade the last parcel in his hands. "And this is for you Tsunade-nee-chan!" Naruto beamed as he saw the amazement in their eyes.

"For us?" Tsunade said, surprised that Naruto had gotten them presents including Ton-ton.

"Arigatou Naruto-kun! Can we open it now?" Shizune asked as she looked at the parcel in her hands. Naruto nodded as he prodded them to open it.

Jiraiya smiled. He knew what were inside those packages. Naruto had insisted that he help him pick them and it took them half a day arguing which one to pick.

"Ero-sennin and I were arguing over what I should get you when he insisted that I should instead get both of you a serphmrr-" Naruto's words was muffled as Jiraiya cut him off by covering his mouth and hooking an arm around his neck.

"Ha-ha-ha! Never mind the kid, go on, and just open your parcels…" Jiraiya drawled as he motioned for Naruto to be quiet about it. He eyed Naruto warily sending him a look saying: "Don't-tell-them-I-told-you-to-get-them-a-set-of-lace-underwear-instead-of-those-darn-kimonos".

Tsunade and Shizune eyed the white haired sannin suspiciously before they carefully opened the package as Jiraiya opened the one for Ton-ton. Naruto bought Ton-ton a set of vests similar to the ones it was wearing.

The two women gaped when they saw the contents of their gifts.

"I know I should have had them gift wrapped but I knew the wrapping might get ruined along the way here. So I had the shop owner make sure to have it wrapped up in several rice papers." Naruto scratched the back of his head as he grinned.

Both women received a very beautiful high-quality silk kimonos. Tsunade's kimono was of blue, green, and silvery white fabric with a peacock and sakura details embroidered in the finest silk threads. Shizune's was of red, black and white fabric with a flowing river and springtime detail done with the same finest silk threads of silver and red.

The two were speechless as they eyed and examined the Kimono before them.

"Oh my! Naruto, you shouldn't have!" Tsunade exclaimed as she hugged Naruto and thanked him.

"Thank you Naruto! I'm going to treasure this! This must have cost you!" Shizune said as she as well hugged Naruto and placed a soft peck on his left cheek.

"It's nothing really. Besides, I really wanted to get something for everyone, and when I saw the kimonos, the first thing that came to my mind was both of you. And oh, promise me your going to wear that okay! I really want to see them on you." Naruto said as he fiddled with his fingers.

The two women tuck away their kimonos as both of them promised to wear it soon.

"Well, we better get going Shizune-san, see you tomorrow nee-chan!" Naruto said as he walked back to gather his stuff.

"Oh, Naruto, before you leave, here are your house keys." Tsunade opened the drawer of her desk as she took out a medium sized box made of cherry wood and handed it Naruto. "Sandaime left a note saying that this should be given to you when come to right age, and I guess this is the right time."

Naruto took the box and looked at Tsunade questioningly. "Why? What happened to my old apartment nee-chan?"

"Your apartment is still there but I think it's best that you start claiming what is rightfully yours. Yondaime wouldn't be happier knowing that his son is under the roof that he built with his own hands." Tsunade smiled. "And I also took the liberty of having your some of your belongings transferred to your new home, I hope you don't mind."

"Well, if that's the case, I'll look for you later Naruto so I can accompany you to your new home." Jiraiya said.

Naruto looked at the box in his hands and caressed the smooth contours, taking note the every detail in it. A small albeit happy smile graced his lips as his eyes began to water. Tsunade stood up from her seat and gathered the blonde shinobi in her arms for a warm embrace. Jiraiya on the other hand patted and ruffled the blonde's hair.

"Welcome home, Naruto, welcome home." Tsunade said as she kissed Naruto's forehead and wiped away the tears from his eyes.

Naruto nodded as he gave Tsunade one of his sincere and heart-warming smiles before he followed Shizune out of the door.

- - - - - -

As soon as Naruto and Shizune left the Godaime's office, Tsunade eyed Jiraiya thoughtfully.

"Jiraiya, tell me, how IS Naruto?" Tsunade said quietly, her voice full of concern.

Jiraiya had to let out a heavy sigh, he knew what Tsunade wanted to talk about.

"As I've said in my past letters Tsunade, he was distracted, troubled and burdened by a lot of things for that matter. I could see it in his eyes no matter how much he denies it when I confronted him by the time we reached the Hidden Village of Rain." Jiraiya said as he recounted.

Tsunade frowned at the fact, she clasped her hands together, and recalled the day Naruto bade her goodbye for the meantime. She never really got to know the real reason why Naruto badly wanted to leave the village that time. She felt bad, that she could not do anything for Naruto that time, even with all her power as the Hokage. All Naruto said then was, he wanted to train, be stronger and better so that he would be worthy of being called a ninja of the hidden leaf and so that he could be worthy of the position he promised himself that one-day he would become the next Hokage of the village.

Tsunade closed her eyes as she brought a hand right above her heart as she remembered that cold, rainy afternoon…

**- Flashback -**

_It was raining for the past two days now and the whole village of the Hidden Leaf seemed to have their spirits damped because of the depressing weather. But that day had more than just a depressing ambiance to have the Godaime Hokage be brought to more than just moments of tears._

_A knock resounded through the room as Tsunade gave out a soft almost irritated 'come in' to the person on the other side. Not looking up from the scrolls that she was reading, she could hear the person slowly shuffle in._

"_Tsunade-baa-chan."_

"_What's up brat? Did you come to-" Tsunade's words were cut off when she looked up to meet the boy, her eyes widened at the sight before her._

"_Naruto!"_

_Tsunade stood up from the comfort of her armchair, the scroll lay forgotten on her desk as she hurried towards the blonde. Naruto's head was bowed down, his orange jacket was tied to his waist and was dripping wet. The boy had scratches on his face and arms, blood was trickling down his cheeks from the deep cut that wasn't seem to be healing itself._

"_Naruto, what happened to you? Why are you soaking wet?" Tsunade said as she did a few hand signs and healed Naruto's cheek. It was then that she noticed the blonde's muddied and disheveled state and sensed there was something amiss with her favorite brat. _

_Naruto wasn't exuding that warm aura nor did he have that goofy grin on his face. His eyes were bloodshot, his shoulders slumped… _

_Tsunade placed a firm yet gentle grip on the blonde's shoulders and felt the eerie coldness that seeped through her hands and fingers. She felt a chill run up her spine as widened yet again when the boy's gaze met hers. His eyes didn't have life in them, they were dull, lifeless and void._

"_Naruto-"_

"_Baa-chan, I'm going with Ero-sennin to train. I don't know when I'll be back but I'm going to promise you this: I'm going to train harder, I'm going to be stronger, better and prove to you and everyone that I'm worthy. That I'm more than just a vessel for Kyuubi."_

_Naruto's voice was raspy as he spoke._

"_I know what you're going to say baa-chan, but for now, please… Just… please allow me to go. I'll answer your questions next time if there are any that is…" _

_Tsunade nodded in understanding as she gently squeezed Naruto's shoulders, then all of a sudden, Naruto hugged her tightly. Tsunade stood there surprised by the suddenness of Naruto's actions._

"_Ne, baa-chan, sorry for all the troubles I've caused you. Forgive me… I promise I'll be back, besides, I still have to be the next Hokage, right? I'm going to miss you baa-chan… Take good care of yourself alright." _

_And then Naruto let Tsunade go as he bolted towards the door and closing it with a soft click even before Tsunade can say a word. Tsunade silently burst into tears as she brought one hand to her face. She didn't even hear the soft sounds of running echoing down the hall. All that kept ringing through her ears were Naruto's last words. She felt her heart twist into knots as the words echoed repeatedly shutting out the sound of the soft raindrops._

_Tsunade kneeled on the floor as tears continued to run down her cheeks. The sound of the rain had become her companion the rest of the afternoon._

**- End of Flashback -**

But Tsunade knew better. She knew that there was something that troubled the young blonde during that time. She suspected that the reason why Naruto wanted to leave the village badly had something to do with the silver-haired Jounin.

"Hatake Kakashi." Tsunade whispered the name under her breath.

"What did you say Tsunade? Why did you mention the name of the copy-cat ninja?" Jiraiya inquired.

Tsunade looked up to the white-haired sannin realizing that she had said the name out loud. She thought that it was no use keeping her suspicions to herself.

"Jiraiya, what do you know about Naruto's relationship with Hatake Kakashi?" Tsunade drawled as she looked out the window of her office.

Jiraiya rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"All I know is that, of course, he was team 7's instructor and jounin guide. Not to mention, he and Naruto seemed to be rather close and if you look at it closely and study it, it seems that their relationship wasn't just that of a student-teacher type." Jiraiya pointed out flatly.

"Well, your observation is slightly true. I asked Kakashi about the matter when he asked me if I knew about Naruto's whereabouts. All I said to the jounin was that you took the boy with you to train. He accepted that information and I assigned Inuzaka Kiba as temporary replacement in team 7 to replace Naruto in his absence. I asked him if there was something between them but he was tight lipped about it. Not to mention, he seems to be spacing out from time to time with a far away look in his eye." Tsunade informed.

"The rest of rookie 9 are still chuunins right? Naruto has surpassed them."

"Iie, Hyuuga Neji is already a jounin." Tsunade paused before eyeing Jiraiya contemplatively. "Jiraiya, what else happened during those four years he was with you?"

"Well, aside from his own personal dilemmas, he lightened up when I told him who his parents were. And I personally think that it was the best move. The boy has suffered too much at a very young age. He knows what agony, pain, betrayal and loneliness is. He didn't deserve it but I guess it was somewhat good for him in terms of him being able to stand up on his own two feet whenever he stumbles down.

"The villagers here doesn't realize it but the prominent clans know how special the boy is. As much as they want to take in and care of Naruto under their wing during those times, they can't because of the villagers." Jiraiya paused in his musings and looked at Tsunade with a meaningful glance.

"The four years he was with me was good for him. He was able to loosen up from the mask he was wearing all those times."

"Mask?" Tsunade queried. Jiraiya merely nodded. It was then that realization had hit her. Tsunade wanted to cry for Naruto. She wanted to cry for the pain, the loneliness that Naruto had to go through.

"God damn it!" Tsunade cursed as she slammed her fist on her desk.

"I know how you feel Tsunade. It was good that you allowed him to go with me. Or else he would have snapped and broken down. During those times… Rejection and hatred from the villagers, the discovery that he was the Kyuubi's vessel, the attack during the chuunin exams, Sandaime's death, Akatsuki and whatever it was between him and Kakashi, all of it had placed strenuous weight upon his shoulders, his mind and on his heart as well.

"No matter how we look at it, no matter how Naruto says that he will never give up, one way or the other he has been forcing himself to smile, especially during the times where he is already miserable. It's a good thing that his soul was never tainted. How his heart had remained pure during all those times really is a wonder." Jiraiya sighed. He peered at Tsunade through his lashes and saw that she was crying.

"Here, better wipe your face before your assistant suddenly returns and pound me to death." Jiraiya joked trying to lighten up the atmosphere. Tsunade smiled as she accepted the handkerchief.

"We are now his guardians. All we can do now is assure him that he is never alone. That he never was." Jiraiya said as he and Tsunade made a silent agreement that from that moment on, they would do in all their power to keep the boy smiling.

"You know, I was surprised to hear that you had told Naruto about his parents. And I'm glad that you did. He has all the right to know. What was his reaction when you told him?" Tsunade said as she wiped the tears from her face.

"He was gaping at me like a god damn goldfish the whole time. I could've sworn that if I didn't smack him from time to time his mouth would have been a good home for the squirrels." Jiraiya said which earned him a glare from Tsunade.

"But after reality had sunk in, he kept on asking questions about Yondaime, what he was like and all the stuff. Good thing I kept and collected pictures. You should have seen how his eyes brightened when he saw Yondaime in color. And you know what?" Jiraiya said as he looked at Tsunade as the said woman just looked at him egging him to go on.

"I just found out myself how much those two are alike. Brings back old memories when I taught Yondaime myself. Who would've known that I would be teaching his son as well."

"But Naruto was more of a brat compared to Yondaime, ne? He has more mischief up his sleeve. Good thing you're still in one piece." Tsunade joked.

"You can say that again. You have no idea… By the way, what's up with this town? Anything new? What news do you have?" Jiraiya inquired.

"Well, as you can see and I know that you are aware of this, in one of the S-Class missions that Naruto was sent to, he had to deal with Uchiha Itachi."

"Yes, I know. Naruto was in the hospital for two weeks after he beat Itachi."

"I was surprised that Naruto was able to beat Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan not to mention, beat Itachi himself. Jiraiya, tell me, how did Naruto manage?" Tsunade asked.

"Well, you do know who Arashi married right?" Jiraiya said as he got a semi-knowing look from Tsunade. (5)

* * *

- - - - - - - 

TBC

- - - - - - -

* * *

Yes, I know, lovely word isn't it? 

(1) Okay, I have no clue whatsoever on how the Jounin exams work. So I imagined it almost like the chuunin exams minus the forest of death thing… But I faintly remember one of the works of shi-chan having the same comments on the jounin exams. (scratches head)

(2) Another mind boggle for me… I assumed that this is possible, let's just say that Mist and Cloud Country are in good terms with and are allies of Leaf. So to speak…

(3) Another familiar line… I did say that who the authors are to whom I got my inspiration from didn't I? So don't sue me… As I've said, I only got lint in my pockets… (sweatdrops)

(4) I don't even know if it's possible, but hey! This is a fic and I can do and write whatever I want, ne? (peace!)

(5) There's been a couple of fics that I've read wherein the Yondaime's name is Uzumaki Arashi. Besides, I have no intention of making up a new name for the Yondaime. That would be too troublesome… :P

* * *

**Authoress' Note:** Woot! My first Naruto fic! So be kind… Flames are used to roast chickens to perfection… 

I'm surprised that my brain is still working. And also, I apologize for the errors, my beta-reader is currently in hibernation mode. I had fun doing this part. I was literally drooling while describing Naruto's sexiness in this fic! Not to mention, I can't believe I made the first chapter this long… (bangs head on the nearest wall)

And oohh… Is that a love triangle that I'm brewing? (evil glint) Har har… Shit... I shouldn't have said that… Anyway, please be kind and leave a review… It would relieve this poor and despaired soul of mine…

By the way, for those who have been my avid readers in the **Slam Dunk****Fandom**, well…I'm still deciding whether or not I should continue since I lost all the hard copies of the finished parts (yes… I've finished all those hanging fictions…) and when I say finished, I mean all of those already have an ending. How I lost the finished parts? Well, let's put those flamethrowers in to use by cooking the damn virus that crashed my PC… (T-T) Burn, baby, burn!

- - - - - - - -

**Naruto:** So, whom will I end up with here?

**Blue:** (turns around) (blink) (blink) Huh?

**Naruto:** (sweatdrops)

**Tsunade:** (pops out from nowhere) Anyway, read and review please! ( . )V

**Naruto:** where did you come from?!

- - - - - - - -


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Façade

**Author:** Blue-eyed Fox

**Pairing(s):** Kaka/Naru, Ita/Naru, Lee/Sakura, among others…

**Genre:** Romance, Drama, Angst, General, among others…(sweatdrops)

**Disclaimers:** I don't own Naruto and the rest of the gang. If I did then Sakura would be dating Rock Lee after the forest of death incident.

**Warning:** Yaoi, Shounen-ai (**Male/Male romance**), OOC major, a lot of swearing I presume would happen along the way… I already mentioned the Yaoi thing right? So for you squeamish folks out there, I suggest that you pack your bags and press the "BACK" button up there…

Oh, you're still here? So that means you can handle it… Congratulations! (Smiles)

**Authoress' Note:**

I would like to thank those who left reviews for this fic… (bows head) Arigatou-gozaimashita! I never really thought that this one would get any attention… Love you all! (hugs and kisses!)

And please do read my notes at the bottom, I know some of you might get confused or find some scenes absurd or so that's why I made sure I placed a number on a specific line or scent and noted those things at the bottom…

Now on with the fic! (evil cackle)

**Legend:**

_:…:_ Naruto's conversation with Kyuubi.

"…" Mental thoughts.

* * *

- - - - - - - - - - -

Chapter 2

- - - - - - - - - - -

* * *

"Well, you do know who Arashi married right?" Jiraiya said as he got a semi-knowing look from Tsunade. 

"Yes, it was Haruka. What most of the people didn't know was that Haruka belonged to one of the most powerful clans who also have its own bloodline limit. Although their bloodline limit is not limited through their eyes alone. A complicated seal appears on their forehead and their eyes change to a vibrant color of amethyst." Jiraiya said in a matter of fact tone.

"The Sakurazuka bloodline limit—the Yogensha no Sagasu1 otherwise known as the "All seeing eye"." Tsunade drawled as the realization hit her. Jiraiya nodded his head at the affirmation.2

"Haruka never, or should I say, rarely used her bloodline limit due to the fact that he clan was almost wiped out because of it. The bloodline itself gives the wielder the power to see past, present and future. It can also has the ability to manipulate the mind of its victims, just like the Mangekyou Sharingan only more powerful and it makes the victim suffer in real time or whatever is desired by the wielder. To add up to it, the Sakurazuka bloodline limit has the ability to manipulate the people's memories." Jiraiya said as he laid down the facts of the bloodline limit.

"It's that powerful…"

"Yes, that's probably one of the many reasons why Haruka's clan was killed because of it. That's why she never used it in front of anyone else aside from people she trusted the most. Sandaime was aware of this that's why if ever there was a need for it, she summons her here. The Hyuuga's and Uchiha's gave much respect to the bloodline limit. For it is a fact that the Byakugan and Sharingan branched out from the Yogensha no Sagasu since Haruka's clan has been around for more that 500 years. They were also aware of why there was a need to keep it secret from others.

"Another reason why the Hyuuga and Uchiha clan never despised or saw the Yogensha no Sagasu as a rival bloodline limit was that of Haruka's humility and kindness. It was deeply rooted in her heart. And she never took advantage of her bloodline limit. Never did the Sakurazuka's take advantage, especially with their seer like ability to see the future. That's why the two other clans had a soft spot for Naruto, not only because he was the son of Arashi and Haruka but also he had to be the vessel for containing the once rampaging fox. The clans knew of what the child had lost during that time.

"It was a shame that Haruka had to die young when Naruto was only eight months old. She died in her mission while saving a comrade." Jiraiya said with a far away look in his eyes.

"So desu." Tsunade said finally understanding everything. "Was there a clear intention why the clan was almost wiped out?"

"Intentions of why is still unknown. One of the reasons summed up was that the Sakurazuka's constantly refused to use the Yogensha no Sagasu to delve into the future. Another is that because of fear for the bloodline itself. Although it was absurd since, the Yogensha no Sagasu, rarely manifests itself within the clan. The probability of manifestation was 1 out of 20."

"So, how was Naruto able to manifest the Yogensha no Sagasu?" Tsunade drawled.

"All his pent up emotions, and also, with the help of Kyuubi no Youko."

"Kyuubi? How did Kyuubi help?" Tsunade was now confused.

"Naruto is now able to communicate with Kyuubi. And don't worry; I double-checked his seal so there is nothing to worry about. In fact, I had the pleasure of talking to it. And I must say it is very different from the way we all knew it was."

"Kyuubi was only enraged during that time. It was all Orochimaru's fault. If only he didn't mess with its pups." Tsunade rolled her eyes and started to look for something to vent her anger and frustrations on aside from her desk.

Jiraiya was surprised that Tsunade didn't freak out knowing that Naruto was able to communicate with the nine-tailed fox.

"I already knew that sooner or later, Naruto would be able to communicate with Kyuubi. Kyuubi is in fact inside his body, but now knowing that Kyuubi is already that calm and collected, there is no reason for us to worry that Naruto would end up like Gaara of the Sand who suffers from insomnia because of Shukaku who is out of control or should I say is a freak by nature." Tsunade stated.

"I see. And oh, before I forget, Naruto has completely developed his Yogensha no Sagasu." Jiraiya said as he stretched a few muscles.

"Completely developed? Are you saying that it has levels like that Sharingan?" Tsunade was praying to the gods that her assumption was wrong.

"Well, it does have levels, but unlike the Sharingan, he didn't need to kill anyone so he could acquire it. Each level is attained by meditation and from constant use. So all those time when Naruto was doing his missions, he had to wear a mask. So his enemies and targets would not know."

By that, Tsunade heaved a sigh of relief.

"So, what's up with Itachi now? How was he accepted back into the village? What of Akatsuki now?" Jiraiya inquired knowing that he was already done explaining.

"Well, upon receiving the report, and a letter from Naruto which was then very vague but now I completely understand, and from a scroll that he was able to steal from Orochimaru's lair, I have granted Itachi pardon for his crimes and he's back to being a regular jounin for leaf. Regarding the Akatsuki, Naruto stated that Itachi was no longer a part of the organization for a very long time now since the leader of the group died of an incurable illness three years ago and therefore the group was dissolved since the former leader wasn't able to choose his successor, most likely, those who are next in command might as well kill each other for being the next leader of the said group. And of course, I might as well reinstate him as ANBU squad captain whether he likes it or not."

Jiraiya laughed at Tsunade's statement.

"He is also back at the Uchiha Mansion much to the dismay of the younger brat. But after knocking some sense into Sasuke, I think they have already settled everything now, thanks to the scroll that Naruto was able to acquire and send to me." Tsunade said as she handed Jiraiya the said scroll.

Jiraiya opened the scroll to study it. Seer

"Well, I'll be damned. I'm not surprised that Orochimaru would go that far to just to get both or either one of the brothers just because of their bloodline limit." Jiraiya mused.

"You can say that again. It's a good thing that Naruto was able to knock some sense into Sasuke before he could have committed the worse mistake of his life." Tsunade mused thoughtfully.

"Well anyway, now the facts have been laid down and almost everything has been ironed out, I better go and do some research since I'll be staying here for quite a while." Jiraiya said as he stood up and rubbed his hands together gleefully.

"_It's a good thing I stopped Naruto just in time before he could even mention the lace underwear set I insisted that he get for Tsunade."_Jiraiya thought. Just then he felt a dark and powerful aura. He slowly looked at the source of the said aura and trembled when he saw Tsunade fuming behind him.

Jiraiya's eyes went wide as saucers as he slowly backed down.

"_**Lace. Underwear. Set?!**_" Tsunade hissed through gritted teeth.

"Oh shit… Did I say that out loud?" Jiraiya mumbled and thought of ways to escape the Slug Sannin's wrath before he ended up with more than 50 stitches on his lower regions. But even before he could move an inch Tsunade's brows furrowed even further as veins popped out from her fist and forehead as she pummeled the white-haired sannin to a pulp before she kicked Jiraiya out through the window whilst screaming,

"Jiraiya!!! You **PERVERT!!!**"

And all was calm indeed that very morning.

* * *

- - - - - - 

: Seems like Ero-sennin did something again. : Naruto looked from the corner of his eye as he listened to the pained scream of his perverted teacher.

: More like mentioning his perverted plans to Godaime. : Kyuubi said as she lazily opened one eye and went back to sleep._3_

"Ano sa, ano sa! Shizune-san, what's with the shinobi lounge?" Naruto was fixing his clothes and cloak back in place, covering his ANBU uniform as he followed Shizune to their destination.

"Well, as Tsunade-sama said, it's more or less like a cafeteria where most of the shinobi's take their break, talk and catch up on things." Shizune thoughtfully rubbed her chin.

"Anou… Shizune-san…"

Shizune stopped dead on her tracks and looked curiously at Naruto.

"Can I ask you a huge, huge, huge favor?" Naruto clasped his hands together in a begging kind as he brought his "lost-sad-puppy-look" face closer to Shizune who sweatdropped and at the same time blushed at Naruto's cute face.

"What is it Naruto-kun?"

"Umm… I want to surprise everyone including Iruka-sensei the most… So… That is… What I mean to say is that…"

"_Ah to hell with it! Just tell Shizune-san!"_ Naruto mentally screamed as he dragged Shizune to the corner and crouched low on the ground and whispered his plan as Shizune just nodded her head signifying that she understood.

"Wakatta… Don't worry Naruto-kun! I'll help you! Yosh! Let's get to it then! "Operation: Surprise!" is now in session!" Shizune stood up with a triumphant look etched on her soft features. (Add a background of waves splashing and roaring against the cliff where Shizune is standing.)

"_Operation what?"_ Naruto stared at the girl as if she'd lost it.

And so "Operation: Surprise!" was already on its way. Naruto had given Shizune all the things that he wanted to give everyone else, as he was to hide himself using an invisible jutsu.

Naruto snuck in the shinobi lounge trailing behind Shizune's back with almost no effort at all as he kept his chakra hidden. He scanned the lounge looking for his beloved teacher and found him easily; the tied up hair and the scar on the bridge of his nose were the most identifiable traits of his sensei among other things. He found him talking with a couple of chuunins sitting down near the window.

"Umino-san! I'm glad you're here! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Shizune called out as she quickly made her way to the said chuunin who had a curious look on his face.

Naruto had to bite down a chuckle when he saw the look on his favorite sensei's face.

"Shizune-san, is there something wrong? Does Hokage-sama need anything from me?" Iruka asked.

"No, not really. I just came here to give all of you these." Shizune said as she handed Iruka and the others their presents.

"Eh?" Hayate piped in as the packages were shoved in their faces.

"How come we have one too?" Kotetsu asked as he looked down at the neatly wrapped package.

"Who is it from Shizune-san?" Izumo blinked at the package on his hands.

"Probably from our fans…" Genma said as he thoughtfully chewed on the straw in his mouth.

"Fans?" All of them chorused as they looked at Genma incredulously.

"Well, it is possible…" Genma shrugged.

"It's from Naruto-kun." Shizune playfully said as she smiled down at Iruka.

"Eh!" All of them exclaimed since not one in Konoha has heard any news of Naruto since he left four years ago. The only thing they knew was that he left with Jiraiya to train.4

"Naruto!? Shizune-san! What news from him? Where is he now? Is he okay? Is Jiraiya-sama looking after him?" Iruka exclaimed as he bombarded Shizune with questions.

"Mou, Iruka-sensei! You haven't changed a bit!" Naruto drawled as he loomed over behind Iruka's back.

"Gyaah!" Iruka jumped up from his seat including the four other shinobis as they stared wide-eyed at the cloaked figure.

"How have you been Iruka-sensei? Long time, no see." Naruto chuckled at their bewildered faces as he removed his cloak to reveal himself.

"Konnichiwa!" Naruto greeted the four star struck shinobis who were gaping at him.

"Naruto!!!" Iruka who was shocked back to reality glomped Naruto as tears of joy and relief cascaded (Niagara Falls style) down his cheeks. (Imagine Maito Gai and Rock Lee minus the background effects and Lee hugging back…) Shizune, for the second time, had to wipe away the tears from her eyes.

"Naruto! Where have you been?! Why didn't you even send me a note or even a letter to tell me where you are!" Iruka wailed as he tightened his hold on Naruto. Unknown to him, he was almost squeezing out the life from the blonde boy.

"Sensei… Can't breathe… Help!" Naruto said as he managed to catch a few breaths of air.

"Ah! Sorry! I was carried away." Iruka said as he let go of Naruto.

"It's okay; I was sort of expecting something similar from you anyway. And I'm sorry Iruka-sensei for not writing… I've been… busy training with Ero-sennin." Naruto smiled sheepishly as he tried to catch his breath.

Shizune on the other hand noticed that the four other shinobi's, seemed to have lost their voices at the sight of Naruto and at the same time, were sporting a healthy blush on their cheeks while they were staring, ahem, more or less checking out Naruto.

"Well then, I better get going. See you! Oh, and Naruto-kun, don't forget your meeting with Tsunade-sama tomorrow morning at 9am, ok? And again, thanks for the very lovely kimono! Ja!" Shizune then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

All of them then stared at the spot where Shizune had disappeared before they returned their attention back at the oblivious blonde as all eyes were glued on him.

"So, what did I miss?" Naruto said as he looked at them.

"Well, not much. The village is pretty much the same. Konohamaru and his gang are now full pledge genins. All the members of Rookie 9 are still chuunins for that matter including Ten-ten and Rock Lee, Neji is the only jounin among them. Hmm… What else… I think that pretty much sums it all up.

"How about you? How are you? I see that you've grown a lot… Matured to say the least. Look at you! You've grown out of your orange jumpsuit. But I have to say that you really look nice in black." Iruka said as he eyed the blonde in front of him. Naruto on the other hand twitched at the mention of his orange jumpsuit but neither the less smiled at the comment.

"I agree. You…" Genma said, finally snapping out of his reverie.

"Look…" Hayate piped in.

"Incredibly…" Kotetsu followed by continuing the trail.

"Hot." Izumo finished.

Everyone had to nod in agreement followed by silence accompanied by the chirping of the birds by the windowsill. Naruto sweatdropped and blushed ten shades of red after hearing that comment. Not knowing that the involuntary action made him a whole lot cuter.

"Huh?" Was all Naruto can say…

"What did guys say?!" Iruka demanded as he whipped out a bunch of kunais ready to attack and defend his 'little brother' from any perverted thought or action. He didn't even realize that he had nodded along in agreement to the previously said statements.

The next thing that was seen coming out of the shinobi lounge was a bunch of shinobis running for their life and a crazed, over-protective mother hen screaming "Come back here!" followed by a worried blonde jounin trying to calm down Iruka before he ended up killing someone, literally.

And again, all was calm indeed that very morning.

* * *

- - - - - - 

Somewhere along the training grounds…

Shizune had gathered Maito Gai, Yuuhi Kurenai, and Sarutobi Asuma along with Rookie 9.

"Eh, where's Kakashi-sensei?" Shizune asked.

"He left for a mission two days ago that's why the three of us asked them if we could join them in training." Sakura replied referring to the three Jounin instructors.5

"I see." Shizune rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"So, Shizune-san, why did you call us here for?" Kurenai asked.

"Yes Shizune-san! What can we be of service for you this calm, lovely and youthful morning?" Gai took hold of Shizune's hands as he flashed his blinding pearly whites. Good thing that Shizune was able to don her sunglasses or else she would have been blinded by the sheer sparkle of Gai's smile.

"Oi, Gai, stop harassing Shizune." Asuma said as he dragged Gai away from Shizune. Everyone else just sweatdropped except for Lee.

"Anyway, I just gathered all of you here to give you these." Shizune then began shoving their presents under their noses as she quickly handed it to them one by one.

After receiving the packages, the said recipients began exchanging with each other giving the package in their hands to the rightful owner since Shizune forgot to look at the names due to utter excitement therefore messing it all up.

"Arigatou Shizune-san." Lee and Sakura said as they received theirs.

"What's the occasion Shizune-san?" Neji asked as he eyed the parcel warily.

"Hn." Sasuke wanted to throw the package away thinking that it might be from one of his fan girls who bribed Shizune to give it to him. Although he held the thought back thinking that if it were from his fan girls, he would be receiving more than just one.

"Eh, isn't it a little too early for gift giving?" Kurenai said.

"I agree…" Shino said.

"Yeah, it's still eight months till Christmas." Asuma replied as he received his.

"So troublesome." Shikamaru shrugged as he earned a blow on the head from Ino.

"Can't you at least be thankful you lazy ass?!"

"You better keep your thoughts to yourself next time, ne, Shika?" Kiba chuckled as he whispered to the Shadow Manipulator.

"I hope its food." Chouji said as he slightly shakes his package.

"It's never too early for things as such! One should enjoy the events and gifts of youth!" Gai exclaimed.

"I agree with you sensei!" Lee piped in.

"Oh no, not again…" Ten-ten sighed.

"Lee!!"

"Sensei!!"

"Lee!!"

"Sensei!!"

And both hugged each other accompanied by a background of sunset and beautiful waves. Everyone sweatdropped as they slowly backed away from the two. Right then, the soft-spoken heiress of the Hyuuga clan spoke,

"Anou, Shizune-san, who is this from?" Hinata said. Thankfully, she had grown out of her stuttering stage ever since Naruto left and disappeared without a word. All of them looked at Hinata, realizing that they didn't know whom their presents were from.

"They're from Naruto-kun!" Shizune happily chirped.

"Nani!" All of them exclaimed as they stared at Shizune disbelievingly.

But even before they could barrage Shizune with questions regarding the blonde's whereabouts, they heard shouts from nearby headed towards their direction. The bewildered group stood their ground as they followed in their line of sight the blur of chuunins running towards them shouting incoherent apologies and accuses at the person running not far behind them.

"We're sorry!" Izumo, Hayate and Kotetsu shouted not even daring to take a glance back.

"Yeah! And besides, you yourself agreed to the statement!" Genma reasoned out as he dodged a couple of kunais that were aimed at them.

All of them snapped their heads to look at the second source of incoherent shouting. Their eyes went as large as saucers when they saw the usually calm and collected chuunin holding and throwing a bunch of kunais to the previous group that had passed them.

"I did not agree to that statement!" Iruka retorted then pausing for a moment. "Did I?"

"YES YOU DID!!" All four unfortunate panting shinobi's exclaimed trying to catch their breaths thankful for the very brief pause from their running and then started to dodge kunais thrown at their direction once again.

"Still! I'll teach all of you a lesson for thinking such perverted thoughts!" Iruka yelled as he ran after them.

All of them did not even take notice of the group of baffled spectators who were watching and listening to the said 'perverted' argument. Right then, Naruto came in running and calling for Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei! Calm down would you!" Naruto called out as he tried to grab hold of the said chuunin. Thankfully he noticed the group who were standing by the sidelines.

"Oh! Hi guys! Good Morning!"

"NARUTO?!"

All of them except Shizune were staring at the blonde before them.

"Long time, no see! I'll catch up with all of you later! I got to calm down Iruka-sensei first before he kills someone." But even before Naruto could follow suit he was grabbed by the arm and was pulled back to the said group.

"Naruto! Is it really you?!" The surprised group exclaimed as they surrounded him.

"Dobe, when did you arrive?" Sasuke asked as he glared at the blonde.

"Naruto! You idiot! Why didn't you even leave a note or something!" Sakura cried she gave Naruto a hug.

"Naruto-kun! My good friend! How have you been?" Lee said as he joined in giving Naruto a bear hug.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm back, I just arrived this morning. Sorry for leaving without notice." Naruto said as he was bombarded with questions and at the same time had his hair ruffled of be locked in a headlock from his friends.

"Hey, hey, can we continue this later, I really need to stop Iruka-sensei and calm him down before he wreaks havoc or worse kill someone with those razor sharp kunais." Naruto stated frantically.

"Well, if that's the case we'll help you find Umino-san." Gai said enthusiastically.

"Yosh!" Lee cheered.

"All of us?" Neji inquired, not letting Naruto out of his sight.

"No, its okay, you guys really don't have too. I don't want to disturb your training any further." Naruto implied.

Everyone noticed the change in Naruto's demeanor but set it aside for now.

"Yes Neji-kun! All of us! And Naruto-kun, don't worry about us! These are the time when we have to help our comrades!" Gai said, his eyes burning with a passion.

"Do we have to?" Shino calmly stated, his eyes not leaving the blonde boy.

Asuma and Kurenai sighed. They knew that once Gai was in this mode, they have no choice but to pitch in as well. Besides, they knew how Iruka could be when provoked, so it can't be helped.

"Well, we better go and start looking for them." Kurenai stated as she carefully kept the package somewhere in her clothes.6

"Let's go guys." Asuma lit another cigarette before leaping onto a branch.

"Ch. So troublesome." Shikamaru shrugged.

Everyone then jumped from branch to branch as they searched and followed the faint sounds of yelling in the training grounds.

And everything indeed was calm and peaceful that morning in Konoha's Hidden Leaf Village .

* * *

- - - - - - - - - - - 

- TBC -

- - - - - - - - - - -

* * *

**  
**

I myself find this word annoying but what can I do? If only I can make the whole fic a one-shot but if I do that, I better start calling a publishing company… (sweatdrops)

**Authoress' Notes:**

Somehow I feel like this chapter is more of comedy rather than drama… Although I have to admit that I loved editing this part…

* * *

1 Yogensha no Sagasu, rough translation is "Eye of the Seer" 

2 I made this up… I think it's just right that I add a twist, ne? And the surname… Sakurazuka… I know some of you guys might be familiar with the name… I got it from a CLAMP anime series… I was thinking of creating an OC, something like Naruto having an older sister or something like that that of course looks like their mother just like Naruto who is the spitting image of the Yondaime sans the whiskers… But I guess it would have been too troublesome to deal with it…

3 I'm going to refer to Kyuubi as a girl. I know he's male but it's so much fun when Kyuubi is all maternal to Naruto.

4 Let's just say that Naruto knows all of them and is friends with all of them, since we all know that he's warm, friendly, bright and bubbly and all that stuff… And also include Rookie 9's jounin teachers as well…

5 Shizune isn't the all-knowing girl when it comes to missions and to whom it is assigned to unless she really needs to. No one is, unless you're the Hokage wherein everyone has to report to you what happened in missions or what missions are there.

6 When I looked at Kurenai-sensei's clothing, I was wondering what kind of bandage she used to wrap herself up… So anyway, just think that she was able to shove that parcel somewhere… And the same goes for everyone who received one from Naruto. (no pun intended… Seriously…)

* * *

- - - - - - - - 

**Blue:** So much for chapter 2… Sorry if it was boring…

**Kakashi:** Anou… Blue-chan, when do I exactly come out here? (_looks at Blue-chan's computer while scrolling down the unfinished chapter 3_)

**Blue:** Eh? Kakashi, when did you come in here? And get away from my computer!

**Itachi:** Blue-chan, do I get ravish **MY** dear little kitten senseless here? (_eyes sparkle_)

**Blue:** Kyaa! WTF! You! How on earth did you get in here as well?! God! I think I need to change the locks. And for heaven's sake! I demand, hell yes, I **DEMAND** that you remove that mortifying purple nail polish first!!!

**Kakashi:** What did you mean by '_**MY **__dear little kitten_'!? Naruto is mine!

**Itachi:** Like hell you are… (_grabs a bottle of nail polish remover and a bag of cotton pads and starts to remove the purple nail polish_)

**Kakashi:** (_lifts his forehead protector, draws out kunais and a summoning scroll_)

**Itachi:** (_activates Mangekyou Sharingan_)

**Blue:** If you two are going to kill each other, go to the forest of death damn it! Or better yet, just stalk Naruto for all it's worth! I still have chapter 3 to finish!

The two men looked at each other thinking about the final statement before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

**Blue:** You can come out now Naruto, and YOU owe me big time… (continues typing third chapter.)

**Naruto:** Thanks… Oh, here… For you! (hands Blue-chan a steaming bowl of freshly cooked Sukiyakidon)

**Blue:** Yatta! (_breathes in the heavenly scent of the sukiyakidon_) Arigatou Naruto-kun!

**Naruto:** Anyway, **read and review** people! I'm sure all of you are itching to know what happens next… (starts attacking Blue-chan's personal stock of ramen)

**Blue:** Yep, now press that pretty blue button down there and tell me what you think. Reviews are very much appreciated for it heals this poor and battered soul of mine… **Read and Review please**…

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Façade

**Author:** Blue-eyed Fox

**Pairing(s):** Kaka/Naru, Ita/Naru, Lee/Sakura, among others…

**Genre:** Romance, Drama, Angst, General, among others… I dunno… (sweatdrops)

**Disclaimers:** I don't own Naruto and the rest of the gang. If I did then Sakura would be dating Rock Lee after the forest of death incident.

**Warning:** Yaoi, Shounen-ai (**Male/Male romance**), OOC major, a lot of swearing I presume would happen along the way… I already mentioned the Yaoi thing right? So for you squeamish folks out there, I suggest that you pack your bags and press the "BACK" button up there…

Oh, you're still here? So that means you can handle it… Congratulations! (Smiles)

**Authoress' Notes:**

I know that the previous chapter was humorous… I made it that way just for the sake of not making the whole fic so damn gloomy. So from the latter part of this chapter and onward, expect more dramatic parts and very little humor so to speak… (Smiles)

And again! Thanks for the reviews! I'm sure some of you might be disappointed (yes, some of you might have been truly disappointed) about the last chapter for seeing some of the characters totally out of line… Gomen! (Bows head)

Okay, this chapter still has a **_bit_** of humor in it… Just a bit…

**Legend:**

_:…:_ Naruto's conversation with Kyuubi.

"…" Mental thoughts.

* * *

- - - - - - - - - 

**Chapter 3**

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* * *

It was already past four in the afternoon when Shizune returned to the Hokage's office looking battered. Tsunade looked at her assistant. (1) 

"What happened to you? Why do you look like you just came home from war?" Shizune looked at the Hokage with a weary look as she began to narrate what had happened earlier in the training grounds.

* * *

**- Flashback -**

BOOM!

And down goes the poor innocent trees.

"Iruka-sensei! Calm down! I demand that you stop it right this instant!" Naruto hollered trying to catch up with the distraught teacher of his. The others however were trying to avoid the falling trees and the fragments of whatever that was flying towards their directions.

Naruto then looked ahead and saw that the four shinobi's that Iruka-sensei were trying to punish, more or less kill, were cornered. So with his quick thinking, he jumped ahead of his teacher and landed right in front of the four horror-stricken shinobis.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto spread his arms in defense of the four poor shinobis behind him.

"Naruto save us!" They all hid behind his back seeking refuge from Iruka's wrath. Right then, the rest of Rookie 9 also came in defense of the shinobis.

Good thing the three Jounin teachers including Shizune were able to hold him down before he even neared where Naruto was.

"Calm down man, what's gotten in to you. Someone stole your pants or something?" Asuma held on to Iruka's right arm, holding him in place.

"Sensei, you're destroying the training grounds!" Kurenai reprimanded, looking flustered than ever.

"Umino-san! Why are you are you so determined to punish those four youthful shinobis? I'm sure that whatever it is, they did not mean it…" Gai was about to begin his speech of youth when Iruka butted in.

"Those FOUR were thinking of perverted thoughts towards Naruto! Can you imagine what they could do further!"

"Why? What were they thinking sensei?" Sakura asked.

"These four said that I was '_hot_'." Naruto deadpanned.

"You forgot to include the word **'_incredibly'_**, Naruto-kun." Kotetsu supplied.

All of them, including the Jounins and the rest of Rookie 9 stared at Naruto finally noticing the changes.

"You DO look good Naruto." Kurenai said after checking out Naruto from head to toe.

"Youth does have its perks!" Lee sighed.

"I have to agree, you do look HOT." Kiba drawled.

Hinata, Ino and Sakura, Ten-ten were blushing, thankfully, only 3 shades of red, after what it seemed like ogling at him from head to toe.

"You forgot the word **'_incredibly'_**." Genma said with a passion.

"Add the word **'_sizzling'_** and everything else would be in place." Kiba added his two cents worth.

Neji, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Shino, and the six male shinobis nodded their heads dumbly in agreement.

Naruto, and the rest of the girls however sweatdropped at their reactions.

All of them suddenly felt cold as they slowly looked at Iruka's direction. Unknowingly, the seemingly 'innocent' conversation had further fuelled Iruka's protective nature. Thus, making the supposed control and rescue squad, the new victims of Iruka's wrath.

"All of you… I definitely won't allow any of you to have your perverted thoughts messing around Naruto's innocence!" Iruka whipped out as he started to chase the group of male shinobis through the training grounds apart from Chouji who never really participated in the conversation since he was practically busy munching on his chips.

At that moment, all of them had a silent agreement, they vowed to never enrage the usually calm and collected chuunin whatever the consequences were.

"Ne, Shizune-san, what do we do now?" Naruto was practically twitching at the scene before him.

"We better restrain him before he decides that the next training ground is the village."

General sweatdrops ensued as they quickly followed the new path that Iruka created.

Unexpectedly, Shizune, Naruto and the rest of the girls saw a couple of ANBU members who were also out and about at the training grounds, had their hopes that they could ask for their help and assistance, but instead, ended up as additional targets for Iruka who happened to see that most of them were trying to flirt and grope Naruto's cute ass. (2)

**- End of Flashback -**

* * *

"And so Naruto, the rest of the female Shinobis and I were the ones left to restrain Umino-san. Good thing Naruto-kun came up with an idea from all the chasing and immediately caught up with Umino-san. Naruto-kun then gave Umino-san one of his 'puppy-eyed-looks' as he asked, well, begged Umino-san that he wanted to get Ramen with him and catch up on things." Shizune heaved a heavy sigh before she collapsed on the nearby couch. "So that's how Naruto-kun managed to get Umino-san's attention away from all of them." 

"Is that so? Maybe I should promote Iruka to Jounin rank." Tsunade mused after she had envisioned the said chain of events in her mind. After all, insanity is a helpful mental state in accomplishing missions.

Shizune was too exhausted to argue. Suddenly, she remembered that there was one more package left in her custody.

"Oh my! I forgot to give this back to Naruto-kun!" Shizune wearily stood up but found herself reeling back in to the comforts of the couch.

"What is it Shizune?"

"It's Kakashi-san's present. I forgot that he was on an A-Class mission today." Shizune dug out the parcel and shakily placed it on the coffee table near her. Tsunade stood up from her seat and walked towards the coffee table and picked up the medium sized parcel.

"Shizune, I think it's best that we give this parcel to Kakashi when he returns from his mission." The Hokage's assistant gave her an understanding look. "For now, I suggest that you go home and rest. I believe you're worn out to the bone."

With that, Shizune slowly stood up from the couch and trying hard not to fall back as she gave a swift bow to the Godaime before she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Tsunade then walked back to her desk and placed the parcel inside the drawer. She then looked outside the office windows, staring at the horizon, muttering a silent prayer to the heavens hoping that from this day onwards, everything would turn out right for the blue-eyed blonde.

* * *

_**Somewhere else in Konoha…**_

A group of young Shinobi lay exhausted, panting and catching their breaths on the soft grass of the now safe training grounds. Never in their life have they imagined a Chuunin running after them with the most intense idea of skinning them alive.

It would have been easy to outwit a Chuunin, however, the said Chuunin seemed to have evolved into a Super ANBU slash Hunter-nin. Just because of his over-protective mother hen nature…

"_Nature and nurture works in mysterious ways… Mental note: Never Mess with MOTHER HEN!"_ All of them thought at that moment…

* * *

_**At Ichiraku's…**_

After 10 bowls of Miso Ramen, Naruto sighed contentedly as he took a sip of his green tea. Iruka looked at the boy beside him.

"_He has changed a lot… Although some habits die hard…"_ Iruka noted as he stared at Naruto with utter fascination.

"Ano sa, ano sa! Iruka-sensei, how have you been?" Iruka brought his hands into a thinking position and tilted his head a little bit to the side.

"Well, I'm definitely okay now, now that I've seen you." He looked at Naruto thoughtfully. "When you left without saying a word, I resigned from being a teacher at the academy. Tsunade-hime was tight lipped about you. So I did missions instead…" Iruka held the teacup in his hands, his head bowed slightly with a faraway look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei… There were things in my mind back then… I wasn't even thinking straight… A lot of things had happened and bothered four years ago."

"Why didn't you come to me then? You know that I'm always willing to listen and help you out Naruto." Iruka pointed out.

"Well, that part I sort of forgot…" Naruto sheepishly smiled as he darted out his tongue playfully, earning him a light smack on the back of his head.

"_I can't tell him the truth… Well, maybe not yet. Four years hasn't done much to heal what was broken. If Iruka-sensei knew… He might do something to him…maybe worse, kill him…"_ Naruto knew how protective Iruka was when it came to him. The incident earlier was living proof of that. He was like a father/brother figure to Naruto.

"You forgot! What kind of reason is that?" Iruka was appalled.

"I told you I wasn't even thinking back then… But it's ok now." Naruto beamed. He just had to second the thought of not telling the chuunin, he knew he had to hide it.

Quickly changing the topic, Naruto paid their bill as he dragged Iruka down the street, begging him to show him the things that had changed since he was gone.

The two spent the whole time together catching up on things. Naruto told him about his journey and training with Jiraiya which of course, in some points in their conversation, almost gave Iruka a heart attack.

Iruka also told him that the older Uchiha was already came back in town, Naruto just smiled. Right then, Jiraiya appeared in front of them in a swirl of leaves.

"Jiraiya-sama!" Iruka's jaw dropped as he looked at the more or less battered and disheveled state of the white-haired sannin.

"What happened to you Ero-sennin?" Naruto looked aghast as he scurried to his sensei's side, followed by Iruka as they led Jiraiya to take a seat. Jiraiya looked, if not more or less if you studied his state longer, more battered as if he had done a despicable act in front of the village people which often resulted to being mobbed on the spot.

Jiraiya grudgingly narrated how he got flung out the window because of his accidental slip of the tongue with the flat-breasted bitch Tsunade and how he landed in the bathhouse. With glee and dread, Jiraiya also narrated his mixed fortune, when he had landed in the male section of the onsen, relatively, a good part wherein he was able to sneak peek and take notes for his '_research_' at the women bathing at the other side. Fortunately, or should I say, unfortunately for the white-haired toad sannin, he got caught, was beaten up to a mush and went airborne the next five minutes only to land yet again at a nearby bathhouse for the second time.

"_You deserved it! You perverted sannin!"_ Naruto and Iruka exclaimed mentally.

"Good thing I still have those intact." Jiraiya said as he referred to those things down under.

Iruka and Naruto on the other hand sweatdropped at the level of perversity of the Toad Sannin and at the same time twitching, refusing the urge to pummel the said sannin.

"Anyway Naruto, it's best that I show you your new home. Iruka-san, care to tag along?" Jiraiya stood up dusting his clothes.

"Yeah! That would be fun Iruka-sensei!"

"I appreciate it Naruto-kun, but I have an early shift tomorrow. Maybe I'll drop by in the afternoon." Iruka smiled. (3)

"Okay, if that's the case then I'll make dinner. You'll be staying for dinner right?" Naruto suggested.

"You cook?"

"Believe it or not, but the boy can whip up something more than just instant ramen." Jiraiya sniggered as Naruto puffed his chest in defiance.

"Somehow, the idea of combining Rasengan and 1000 years of pain to drive it up your not so sorry ass is beginning to be such a good scheme, Ero-sennin." Naruto drawled as he cracked his knuckles. Jiraiya paled while Iruka began to picture the image of how it would end up.

"Well, you guys better get going. It's getting late. See you tomorrow Naruto-kun! Till then Jiraiya-sama." Iruka bade as he went to the direction of his apartment.

The latter two also went their way to Naruto's new home. As they walked through the streets of the village, Jiraiya asked Naruto how his day had been.

Naruto grimaced as he recounted the events earlier that day. Jiraiya was laughing out his heart delight upon hearing it, wishing all the same that he were there to take note. Who knows, it might have come in handy by the time he decided to write Icha Icha Paradise Yaoi version, with Naruto, as it's main character.

_: I'm sensing an odd vibe that the perverted sannin is up to something kit. :_

_: What do you mean Kyuu-chan: _Naruto raised a brow.

_: Hmm, let's just say something appallingly perverted so to speak. : _Kyuubi drawled.

_: Kyuu-chan, everything in the sannin's head is perverted unless it has to do with him losing his family jewels. :_ Naruto informed as Kyuubi snorted in her cage.

"So, did you get to see _him_?" Jiraiya walked straight ahead, waiting for his student's reaction.

"See who Ero-sennin?"

Jiraiya paused in his tracks as he stared at Naruto.

"_It's either that Jounin is on a mission or Naruto just avoided him. I don't see anything wrong as of the moment." _Jiraiya pondered.

"Ero-sennin, something a matter?"

"Iie, I just remembered something that I forgot to ask Tsunade." Jiraiya pushed back the thought of mentioning the silver-haired Jounin to Naruto. "Come on let's get going before it gets too late…"

And thus, the two made their way to Naruto's new home, every so often, cracking up something funny. Unbeknown to them, a figure was hopping pass them not too far from where they were.

* * *

Somewhere in the outskirts of the Konohagakure no Sato, a silver-haired jounin made it's way back to the village. It was already ten in the evening and he would have to immediately hand in his report. However, the report can be done the following day. He wasn't really the type of person who would make a report explaining what had happened in the course of his rather quick and uncomplicated mission at the said time of the night. What mattered now is that he delivered the scrolls to the Hokage or rather hand it over to Shizune. Very typical of the said Jounin, after all, he was famous for his rather uncanny ways of making up weird excuses. 

"_Still, no news of him. It's been four years, Naruto, where are you…"_ Kakashi let out a heavy sigh, his thoughts on the blonde lingered through in his mind as he reached the tower.

"Kakashi-san! You're back early!" Shizune was surprised, she had just known the nature of his mission and knew that he wouldn't be back till the day after tomorrow to say the least. (4)

"Everything went well, fortunately." Kakashi smiled, his visible eye curving upward.

"I see, you handing in you're report now?" Shizune knew that it was a dumb question. The jounin never submitted his reports on time, if he ever did, it was either Tsunade had just reprimanded him yet again or something was up his sleeve.

Kakashi chuckled good-naturedly, "Shizune-san, when did I handed reports on time?" The Jounin half joked.

"Whatever." Shizune rolled her eyes. "Oh, by the way, Kakashi-san, report tomorrow to Tsunade-sama at 10am. I think she has something to tell you."

Kakashi nodded and handed Shizune the scrolls as he bade her goodnight and made his way out of the tower not seeing the undistinguishable look on Shizune's face. As he began to jump from one roof to another, Kakashi saw a blur of golden-blonde hair in the corner of his eye. He stopped immediately and looked back to where he had seen it, however, it was no longer anywhere in sight.

"_Am I seeing things now?"_ Kakashi said to himself and brushed it off as he continued his way back to his apartment. _"I must be worn out from the trip."_

Kakashi entered the safety of his apartment, securely locking the doors and windows. He then went to his bedroom, dropped his bag on the floor, went to sit at his bed and stared at one of the three pictures he had of the blonde boy.

"_If only I could turn back the hands of time, Naruto, I will." _Kakashi thought as his thumb brushed over the smiling face of Naruto in the picture.

* * *

**- - - - - - - - - -**

**TBC**

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* * *

I know, I know how lovely that word is… But you do know that there always has to be a cliffy right? (evil laughter) 

**Footnotes:**

(1) Let's just say that Iruka has a LOT of stamina and he was hell bent on literally skinning those who dared defile Naruto's innocence. Lols. But to think of it, that was a lot of running and dodging starting from 10am till 4pm… (sweatdrops) Can you imagine, six hours of non-stop action! (Evil laughter) No pun intended.. (winks)

(2) ANBU members at the training grounds! What the heck!

(3) Iruka was one of the people who moved Naruto's stuff in his new home along with Shizune.

(4) Shizune's appearance after Tsunade sent her home will be explained in the next chapter…

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**Authoress' Notes:**

He-he-he, sorry if I some of them went a bit off-character, but don't worry, I'll fix it up later…

Yes! Kakashi has arrived! Stay tuned for the next chapter coming soon…

By the way, updates may go a bit slow from this point since I will be out of town for a few weeks or probably months because my school requires it so… College life isn't that great, especially if one is about to graduate…(sigh!) But never fear! **This fic will not go unfinished!** That is my way of the ninja! (Nyahahahaha!) Besides. I love you guys too much to leave this unfinished… So please be a little patient with the updates…

And this story isn't a comedy okay! I only add those funny lines and scene just because there is a need for it. You choose, end up with puffy eyes the rest of the story from the next point onwards or holding your aching sides once in a while because of how I made some of them do something out of the blue? (More or less something stupid for their part… He-he-he…)

Well literally speaking, the humorous parts helps to lighten up the sad and brooding part of the story… Crystal clear? Good… If not, just send me a note and I'll explain it again thoroughly to you… (Wide smile plus sweatdrops)

* * *

- - - - - - 

**Blue:** (starts to type madly, as if the author was in the amazing race) I feel like my head is splitting in to two… Hey, why does it suddenly seem like I have two monitors… Ne, Naru-chan, cut out that Kage Bunshin thing and don't go running around in my house, you'll never know when those two might pop-up again…

**Naruto:** (pops up beside Blue and starts poking her) Hey Blue-chan! Why don't you call it a night? You've been up and about for nearly 15 hours straight… You're starting to see things in two's!

**Blue:** Can't yet, need to start on Chapter 4 at least so I won't lose my train of thought… And stop poking me!

**Naruto:** (eyebrows twitching) Dattebayo! Do that later! Go get some sleep!

**Blue:** Mou! Yada! (sound of incessant typing can still be heard)

**Naruto:** (grabs Blue-chan by the collar and drags her to her bed) You! Go to sleep! Or else you might make me do something incredibly stupid in that… Blue-chan? (sweatdrops)

**Blue: **Zzz…(Z's appeared on her head the moment she hit the covers while clutching her favorite hug-pillow)

**Naruto: **Anyway, **Read and Review people!** I'll tell her to continue her work once she wakes up… Ja! Until next time! (gets a blanket and covers the sleeping author then finds a place to hide)

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* * *


	4. Chapter 4

**Authoress' Notes:**

I would like to dish out my deepest gratitude for those who reviewed! Really! You guys really made my day!

Major OC'ness of two certain Uchiha's… (In this chapter) **You have been warned!**

Read my footnotes by the way, it clears out any questions you might have concerning this part…

**Legend:**

_:…Cute… :_ Naruto's conversation with Kyuubi

"…_Cute…"_ Mental thoughts

* * *

- - - - - - - - -

Chapter 4

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* * *

Shizune woke up around eight in the evening, she badly needed to take a hot shower to help ease out the pain in her sore muscles. (1) 

The Godaime's personal assistant painfully woke up from her sleep remembering that she needed to watch the Hokage in case she was idling off again from her work, not that she did it on a regular basis but she knew better.

After half an hour or so, she headed back to the Hokage Tower only to surprise herself to see that the Hokage was busy signing and stamping down less than a quarter of what was left of the papers on her desk.

"Did Ton-ton fly or something?" Shizune bewilderedly asked the blond woman behind the desk. (2)

"Huh?"

"You're almost done with the paperwork without me having to reprimand you for slacking off. Wait… Hmm… No sake here! What the heck! Is the world coming to an end?!" Shizune did the doko-doko movement (3), looking for signs of impending doom.

BANG!

Shizune stared at the Hokage. Tsunade's head hit the desk face first upon hearing her assistant's comment. She peeled her face off the desk as she looked incredulously at Shizune.

"What do you make of me? I'm not that lazy!" Tsunade's brow was twitching. Thankfully, she didn't break anything in her office. "I just suddenly had the need to finish everything because I feel that there's something coming up tomorrow and the next couple of days and I'm getting a bad vibe when I think about it."

Shizune stared dumbfounded at the Hokage's words but snapped out of it. She knew that when the Godaime had a strange feel about something especially if it's not about being lucky at gambling, it's something to be taken rather seriously.

"Anyway, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be resting. Never mind, don't answer that, I think I already know what it is. Just file these so I can go home and relax." Tsunade eyed her assistant warily before she continued to finish the remainder of her work as she motioned towards the finished piles of paperwork on her desk.

"H-Hai!" Shizune scrambled to get her work done.

Just then, a knock resounded in the room. The two occupants looked at each other as Tsunade signaled for the person on the other end to enter.

A slender figure strode in the room, raw elegance and charisma seeped through in every step. The masked figure bowed in front of the Hokage as he turned in his report.

"Hokage-sama."

"Report."

"Mission success. Targets eliminated. Stolen artifact retrieved."

"Excellent." Tsunade praised as she was handed a small wooded box carved with an emblem belonging to one of the nobles of the fire country. She inspected the contents of the box as the masked ANBU bowed before the Hokage as he started to take his leave.

"Wait." The masked ANBU stopped dead in his tracks as he turned to face the Hokage once again. Confusion could be the best word that can describe what the masked ANBU was feeling at the moment if not for the mask that was hiding his face.

"Is there a problem Hokage-sama?" The masked ANBU voiced out.

"Let's cut off the formalities for a while, I need to discuss something with you, Itachi." (4)

* * *

**- - - - -**

Later that night, a slender figure's silhouette could be made out in the shadows of the night, if not for the fact that the figure was inside the safety of his own village then it wouldn't have been possible.

Uchiha Itachi had just left the Hokage tower and was headed down the same old familiar path towards the Uchiha estate. His mind was still processing the discussion he had with the Hokage as he entered the confines of his home.

"Tadaima." Called out as he removed his sandals.

"Welcome back." Sasuke called out from the kitchen.

Itachi walked down the corridors of the house and went to the kitchen and was surprised to see the bodily state of his little brother.

"Don't. Even. Dare. Ask." Sasuke said, answering the question that was brewing up his brother's mind as he prepared the table for them to eat.

"I haven't even said anything."

"Hn. Whatever." Sasuke snorted as he continued what he was doing which was cooking of course.

Itachi mentally chuckled.

"_I wonder what his fan-girls would think if they see my otouto cooking…"_ Itachi wondered and shivered at the very thought. _"Nevertheless, I wonder what happened to him…"_

"Dinner will be ready in 20-minutes so stop spacing out and get cleaned up, besides, you're dirtying the house." Sasuke snapped.

"Yes mom." Itachi managed to singsong and ducked just in time to avoid the butcher knife thrown at his direction as he hastily made his way to his room before he technically end up having his brother chop his body parts and have it as an exotic viand for dinner.

"You asshole!" Sasuke hollered as he threw another knife only to be embedded with a 'thud' on Itachi's door. Oh, how the younger Uchiha hated it when his older brother messed with him. But deep inside, he was rather happy for two reasons. One, for the fact that his brother didn't really murder their clan; and second, because at least now he was able to make ends meet with his brother, thanks to Naruto for that matter.

Inside his room, Itachi was holding his sides as he silently laughed at his brother's expense. He wiped the tears of mirth from the corner of his eyes as he made his way to the bathroom to clean himself.

* * *

In the Hokage Tower…

"Tsunade-sama, are you sure about that? Your decision I mean…" Shizune warily asked the Hokage who was busy scribbling down something on a scroll.

"Of course, of course! Trust me Shizune, this is for the best." Tsunade said as she waved her hand. Shizune sighed as she filed the last of the paperwork that the Hokage had signed.

"_Besides, things might get interesting from this point onwards…"_ Tsunade mentally added as she continued with her scribbling.

Whatever the Godaime Hokage was thinking was better left unknown as of the moment.

* * *

Back at the Uchiha Mansion…

"_It's been a while since I had a good laugh like that…"_ Itachi mused as he rid himself of his soiled clothing and entered the shower. After scrubbing himself clean, he soaked in the tub he had readied earlier to ease out the aching in his muscles.

Itachi relaxed himself in the tub as he recalled his conversation with the Hokage.

**- Flashback -**

"Itachi, take a seat for a moment." Itachi walked towards the nearby chair Tsunade motioned him to as he removed his mask.

"Is there anything wrong, Hokage-sama?"

"No, I just wanted to inform you that from this moment on, you would no longer be doing solo missions. Instead, I will let you choose between being an ANBU squad captain or you would be working together in specific group, which of course, I, myself have arranged." Tsunade informed the oldest of the Uchiha siblings.

Itachi stared at the Hokage. Speechless. Cat-got-his-tongue was the right term to use as of the moment.

"But why? Is my performance as a solo ANBU deemed unsatisfactory?" Itachi voiced out his concern, finally shaking out of his suspended state. It has been a year since his return to the village and for the past seven months, after being pardoned and deemed innocent for the murder of his clan, he was reinstated to his ANBU rank and since then, he had been working on solo missions. However, he could not help but wonder if the Hokage still doubted him, which of course was unavoidable since he was pinned for a crime he did not even do.

"Nope, consider this as a promotion of some sort."

Itachi looked at the Hokage with a solemn expression in his face, clearly stating that he was assessing the sudden changes at hand.

"You have nothing to worry about Itachi, I don't doubt you or your abilities nor do I have any hidden agenda in doing so." Tsunade calmly stated. She definitely had to lie about the last part as she was hoping that Itachi would consider the latter of the two options she had given.

"What's the difference between the two options?" Itachi asked, mildly irritated.

"Well, in the first option, the team that will be assigned to you would be randomly selected from among the other ANBU members. Other ANBU captains will select them for you in accordance to your area of expertise. On the other hand, in the second option, the members of the pre-created team, if ever you decide to choose option two, are people of whom I'm sure you know of and would be able to work along with smoothly." Tsunade stated the facts while Itachi took note of every word. (5)

"The pros and cons of each are follows, on the first option, you are to be Squad Captain, but of course knowing you, getting along with a new team is a rip off." Tsunade stated in an amused town.

"And I presume that the second option is far more better than the first?" Itachi was somehow had an inkling that the Godaime had everything ironed out.

"Well, I suppose, but that depends on you, although if you ask me, I would prefer the second option. Why you might ask, well, on the second option, you won't be the Squad Captain; however, three of the people you will be working with are of your acquaintance." Tsunade answered, laying the facts down flat.

"May I then have the knowledge of who these three might be?"

"Option one or two? You do know that I can't disclose their identities." Tsunade shot back.

"_Damn you woman, why can't you just give me a straight answer?"_ Itachi sighed inwardly as he massaged his temples. He knew it was futile to play mind games with the slug sannin. Weighing the two options in his mind, he gave his answer,

"I'll go with the latter."

"Excellent choice. Be here tomorrow by 8:30am so I can fill you in with the other details of your new team and your new squad captain. That is all. You may go." Tsunade calmly answered as she mentally cheered. Who knew that she was sly when she wanted to?

Itachi on the other hand was slowly counting 1-50 backwards as he slowly took in deep breaths to calm down himself down and at the same time was thinking of 200 torture scenes to use on the slug sannin using his Mangekyou Sharingan.

**- End of Flashback -**

Itachi let himself soak in the tub of hot water for a couple more minutes thinking of what his new team would be like and who their squad captain might be before he heard his little brother call out saying that dinner was almost ready.

Pushing all his current thoughts in the corner of his mind, he slowly got out of the tub, toweled himself dry and put on a black power shirt and training pants and sauntered out his room towards the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Sasuke already sat down as he scooped rice into their bowls just as his brother decided to walk in with the towel wrapped around his head. Sasuke rolled his eyes as he placed the lid back on the rice cooker.

"What's for dinner?" Itachi asked with a happy grin on his face as he sat across Sasuke as the latter on the other hand eyed his brother with a calculating look.

"…Grilled Beef… Miso Soup… Pickled Ginger…" _"Somehow, I want to peel that silly grin off his face with a blunt and rusty kunai!"_ Sasuke thought of smugly.

Itachi was fighting the urge to either twitch or laugh, he definitely knew what was currently running in his brother's mind and to think, smiling for no reason at all was definitely out of character for an Uchiha. But to be honest, for him, his little brother was just weird today.

"_Too weird…"_ Itachi mused.

"Itadakimasu!" Both said as they slowly ate their dinner.

"How did your mission go, aniki?" Sasuke started.

"Fine. Hokage-sama is placing me back in a team."

"Hn. Why so?"

Itachi shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Maybe she decided that you needed to work on your people skills." Sasuke mused.

"Look who's talking." Itachi smirked. Neither pressed on the topic, both knew that _they_ needed to work on _that_ part.

"Anyway, do you know who you're teammates are? You back to being ANBU captain again?"

"Iie, this time I chose not to. Hokage-sama will introduce me to my team captain tomorrow." Itachi said, hitting two birds with one stone, supposedly. Sasuke raised a slender brow at his brother.

"_Maybe aniki didn't want to polish his people skills after all."_ Sasuke mused as he continued to eat his dinner.

"So, care to tell me what happened to you today? From the looks of it, you seem to have been chased by some overly protective grandma..." Itachi slurped his soup while Sasuke almost choked on the piece of meat that he was chewing.

"Ah! I see! So you _were_ chased by an-"

"Correction: _We_ got chased around the training grounds by an _over-protective __**MOTHER HEN**_!" Sasuke scowled as he remembered the earlier events that day. Itachi paused as he looked up at his brother.

"I beg your pardon?" Itachi asked, the piece of meat in between his chopsticks hung midway in the air.

Sasuke knew that he would not have any peace unless he spilled it out. Knowing that his aniki would poke and prod him until he gave up. Neither the less, he was sure that he would not get the end of his brother teasing him about it. So it was either be teased or be cheesed off.

He chose the former.

Since he has quite a number of good blackmail materials and backlash he could use against Itachi anyway and so, Sasuke began his grueling task of narrating how it all happened.

"-and that's how I got these…" Sasuke pointed to his scratch and bruises. He closed his eyes, waiting for his brother's reaction, but when he got none, he slowly peered through his long bangs at his brother.

His brother's reaction was priceless or to say the least, un-paint-able to his horror.

Itachi's brows were twitching madly and so were the corner of his lips. His hands were shaking and from the looks of it, his brother was holding his breath. Sasuke gulped. This was bad… Very, _very_ bad…

"So you're telling me that…" Itachi gently placed his bowl and chopsticks on the table. "You ended up being target practice for Iruka-san's 'mother hen' mode?"

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched as a vein popped out of his head. Itachi seeing this burst out laughing, the towel on his head falling on the ground. Sasuke on the other hand buried his face in his hands.

Oh, Itachi just loved to tease his poor little brother. It was also right then when Kisame decided to waltz in. Seeing the state of the two Uchiha's, he sweatdropped. (6)

"Did your brother decide to laugh until he dropped dead?" Kisame looked directly at the younger Uchiha. Sasuke raised his head to acknowledge the arrival of Kisame only just to let it drop back down in his hands. Kisame walked to the informal square dinner table and sat himself down on a chair between the two Uchiha's.

"So what did I miss?" Kisame prodded Itachi's shaking shoulder. Itachi, who had finally regained his composure, coughed lightly, looking very amused at his brother. Sasuke shot him a warning look, a look that promised a painful and horrible death. Itachi, he could handle, but Kisame? Ah hell!

"You can ask Sasuke…" Itachi said as he quickly finished his meal, brushing off his brother's death-promising stare. Kisame began to dig in his meal as well while he nagged the younger Uchiha to tell him. So and so, the nagging continued whilst Itachi sipped his tea.

"By the way, what was the reason again, to why Iruka-san decided to run amok?" Itachi asked casually, remembering that he wasn't able to pick up on why. Sasuke and Kisame looked at Itachi pausing from their repartee. Sasuke seeing this as his chance to turn the tables on his aniki, decided to carefully pick his words.

"It's because those four chuunins who, to be precise, thought is was just to _appreciate_ **Naruto's**_sexiness_." Sasuke finished with a smirk. Kisame saw what the younger Uchiha had on his mind and decided to tag along.

"Oh, _**Naruto**_ is back, eh?" Kisame drawled, a playfully evil glint sparkled in his eye. "I didn't know that he was a head turner."

Kisame and Sasuke knew of Itachi's long adoration for the blonde Kyuubi vessel. That is why whenever a chance as such presented itself, they never let it slip pass.

Sasuke, on the other hand, seeing that the older Uchiha almost choked on his tea, he continued,

"Hmm, now that you've mentioned it, a couple of ANBU members were also hitting on Naruto, not to mention a few managed to grope his ass."

That did it. The two could feel a negative aura rising from Itachi who currently had his head bowed down, his eyes covered by his bangs as veins were slowly popping out. Kisame finished his meal in a blink of an eye and so did Sasuke, both didn't want to end up a bloody pulp in kitchen. As both stood up, hurrying as they excused themselves.

"Oi aniki, don't forget to clean up and don't break the dishes just because you want to strangle the hell out of those ANBU's who audaciously groped the dobe's ass." Sasuke said as he stuck his head back in the kitchen and out again rushing out quickly trying to hide his mirth along with Kisame when they heard something in the kitchen break.

Back in the kitchen, Itachi was close to going on a murderous rampage, either from the 'groping thing' or from the two previous occupants' actions.

Either way, Itachi stood up as he proceeded to clean up.

"_This is Kisame's chore!"_ Itachi was definitely annoyed, not only did he end up having the tables turned on him but also he had to do the dishwashing. On the other hand, he didn't have to fuss much about the last part since the Uchiha household had a dishwasher.

Itachi finished cleaning in no time as he picked up his towel and headed up his room. As soon as he entered his personal sanctuary, Itachi stretched out languidly on his bed. It has been more than a year since that Kyuubi vessel had defeated him. He was not ashamed nor was he stricken with the promise of revenge to uphold his name. None of that would blind him, ever.

He still remembered the time he and Kisame arrived at Konoha along with a number of ANBU that was sent to retrieve them, courtesy of Jiraiya who had sent a letter to Tsunade during that time. He recalled the time he received a verbal whiplash from the Godaime Hokage and how his ears wanted to bleed from the three hour reprimand and how he and Kisame was thankful that it was over.

For one month they were placed under probation for the sake of '_national security'_. And of course, after that, he had to put up with his dear little brother who was all out in skinning him alive. Well, figuratively speaking since Tsunade had already informed the younger Uchiha about the truth and all, and knowing that the Uchiha's have that tenacious flair running in their veins, Itachi found himself defending his life and joining the wistful mayhem and verbal banter that his little brother started.

In the end, both Uchiha's still came out breathing whilst sporting cuts and bruises. And so, their lives had started over again, but this time to become more bearable.

He and his little brother owed everything to Naruto. If it were not for him, they would still be living a lie.

Itachi mused over Naruto after thinking of all the things that happened. But one thing was for sure, the last thing that came to his mind before sleep flooded his senses were a pair of cerulean blue eyes.

"_Naruto-kun…"_

* * *

**- - - - - - - - - **

**- TBC -**

**- - - - - - - - -**

* * *

Yes, another cliffhanger! You guys got to live with it…(evil grin) Umm… Where's Kakashi you say? He's in the next chapter…(winks) Say, I deserve a hell lot of reviews, ne? **Read and Review people!** It makes me happy when I see your constructive comments and reactions, for it heals this poor, tired, battered soul of mine. FLAMES by the way are used for roasting chickens to perfection so don't bother. 

**Authoress' Notes:**

I'm really not the editor's dream so to speak so please bear with me… I'm doing my thesis, and a truckload of other requirements for my last quarter of my first semester in college… (Bleeds to death)

Itachi has made his sexy debut! Yay! And the Uchiha's are a bit out-of-character… But who cares? They would probably be like that if not for their clan right? (sweatdrops) Anyway, if they were very OC for your taste, you have to live with it, well not entirely on the whole duration of this fic…

**Footnotes:**

(1) Did you know that hot showers help ease out those tired muscles? Furthermore, it's good for the skin! It opens up pores so that it can get rid of those dirt and germs that gets trapped inside. (I suddenly sound like a commercial commentator…(sweatdrops))

(2) Ton-ton's a pig remember? I forgot how the saying goes, but it means that what is seemingly looks impossible has been possible or had become reality. Literally, Tsunade's eagerness to finish her paper work… (Duh!)

(3) Err… How do I explain this… the action wherein the character looks from left to right, up and down, low and beyond in a funny way…(sweatdrops)

(4) I have a good reason why Itachi is so easily forgiven okay? So just hang in there…

(5) Like hell I know how they get to be assigned, so I just assumed it was as is...

(6) Kisame's appearance in this fic would be in very brief episodes, I think. That is, to further humor my state of mind. And how he ended up in Konoha and all will be explained in the next chapters… So just hang in there…again…

- - - - - -


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimers:** I do not own Naruto and the rest of the gang. If I did then Sakura would be dating Rock Lee after the forest of death incident.

**Authoress' Notes:**

Hi guys! Thanks again for the reviews! And I'm sorry if some of you weren't satisfied with the last chapter… XÞ

I know, I know! This update has been long overdue! I already told you why and I have been suicidal lately, honestly… I also have this unhealthy obsession of making sure I have at least 2500 to 3000+ words in every chapter I make unless it's a one-shot fic. XÞ

And I am currently lost in the valley of nothingness…

**Legend:**

_:…Cute… :_ Naruto's conversation with Kyuubi

"…_Cute…"_ Mental thoughts

* * *

**- - - - - - - - - **

**Chapter 5**

**- - - - - - - - - **

* * *

Naruto and Jiraiya stopped in their tracks. Naruto looked at the white-haired sannin, slightly confused.

"We're here." Jiraiya said as he looked at the blonde boy. "Welcome to your new home."

"Eh? Where?" Naruto asked, not really knowing where to look. The street was lined with white Sakura trees illuminated by the bright street lamps.

Naruto inwardly hoped earlier that the place itself wasn't situated near those smug, rich, uptight, no non-sense families. He couldn't possibly survive a lifetime mingling with them. He was thankful however, when Jiraiya informed him that the place itself was almost near the Hyuuga compound and not really far away from where the Uchiha's were settled. For him, that made sense, knowing about his own bloodline.

Jiraiya grabbed Naruto by the collar and turned his head. Naruto scowled at Jiraiya who then motioned him to look in front.

"Here." Jiraiya pointed to the direction of a gate. Naruto's line of sight followed to where Jiraiya's thumb was pointing. Naruto's jaw literally dropped to the ground when he saw to where the Ero-sennin was pointing. Dumbfounded would be damned well be the highly used understatement of the year. He was gawking at a fairly large wooden gate; the walls to which it was attached to, stretched a couple of meters along from where they passed until the end of the street on the opposite end and was high enough to hide the inner estate that it held in it's confines. (1)

"I know what you're thinking brat and you better believe it. You got the keys right? Lend me." Naruto dumbly nodded as he handed Jiraiya the keys. As Jiraiya unlocked the gate, Naruto held his breath as they entered the compound. What lay before almost made him faint for the lack of oxygen running through his system.

"Breathe kid; I don't want to carry you inside the house." Jiraiya said as he playfully slapped the boy's back.

Naruto stumbled a bit forward as he surveyed the sight before him. It was nothing grand or fancy. In fact, it was simple and neat and well taken care of. The bushes lining the walls were trimmed and kept, there were a couple of Cherry Blossoms and Willow trees in the compound as well a the pond had live fishes too!

_: Wait a minute, how come there are fishes swimming in that pond:_ Naruto wondered as he ogled at the carps that were currently sleeping.

_: They're probably new kit. :_ Kyuubi answered.

"You know, those fishes aren't going to wake up any time soon unless you have plans on joining them in the water." Jiraiya said good-naturedly. Naruto simply glared back at the man.

Once the duo entered the comforts of the house, the two of them sat down in the living room and talked about the plans Naruto had in mind and Jiraiya, for once every blue moon, gave handed out some useful and parent-like advice to the healthy bundle of nerves named Naruto.

"Ne, Ero-sennin, there's something I would like to ask you." Naruto said.

"Stop calling me that you damn brat! And what is it?" Jiraiya said as he playfully smacked the back of Naruto's head.

"If Rookie 9 and the rest would ask you or something about why I left, just tell them it was a spur of the moment thing that you wanted to train me or something…please?"

Jiraiya paused midway from sipping his tea and looked thoughtfully at Naruto. What did really happen to this boy four years ago?

"Sure thing kid, who am I to deny a distressed apprentice of mine." Jiraiya nodded as he flashed a genuine smile at Naruto.

And the two continued to talk the rest of the night.

* * *

- - - -

* * *

Naruto woke up early in the morning, excited that he was now officially a part of Konoha's elite ANBU squad. He proudly donned his uniform as he walked down the hallway only to be greeted by the smell of sweet waffles for breakfast.

'_Wait a minute! Waffles!? Ero-sennin doesn't even know how to make waffles unless…'_

"Iruka-sensei!?" Naruto lunged forward as he glomped the sweet-tempered chuunin by the midsection. Thankfully, Iruka had already set down the plates when he felt Naruto near the kitchen.

"What are you doing here so early in the morning? Don't you have a bunch of kids to teach back at the academy?" Naruto asked.

"Hokage-sama gave me the day off. She let Shiranui-san take care of the kids for me." Iruka replied. _'Serves him right!'_ Iruka thought.

"Eh? Does Genma-san even know how to teach?"

"Beats me," Iruka shrugged. "But if the kids don't learn anything useful from that man…" Iruka trailed off, Naruto merely sweatdropped and mentally highlighted previous mental notes regarding not pissing off a certain mother hen.

Somewhere in the academy, a certain senbon chewing jounin sneezed and only hoped that he wouldn't be catching a cold since it was the second time he sneezed since he still have plans to seduce a dolphin.

"Well, let's not talk about that guy, why don't you sit down and have some breakfast before you meet up with Hokage-sama." Iruka ushered as Naruto let go of his midsection and began to dive in the mound of sweet smelling waffles...

"Zish ish shoo ngood! Ish delshoos. I misshed fyour ngooking!" Naruto mumbled in between chew. Being around Naruto every meal time made Iruka an expert in decoding the blonde's eating vocabulary. (2)

"You know you shouldn't be talking with your mouth full but then again, I'm glad you liked it Naruto. Is Jiraiya-sama coming down anytime soon?" Iruka asked as he set another plate of waffles on the table and sat across Naruto.

"Nah, I think he's going to sleep in. We've been talking all night." Naruto said as he shoved another forkful of waffles.

Iruka nodded as he took in Naruto's appearance. Iruka had previously known that Naruto had already become an ANBU. He can't help but worry about Naruto's well-being every time the boy would be in a mission. He worried for the sake of being such a worry wart, he truly cared and worried about Naruto even though he knew that the boy could take care of himself but he just couldn't help it. Iruka mentally sighed. How time flies.

Naruto on the other hand noticed Iruka spacing out as he finished his waffles.

_: He's worried about you kit. A total mother hen that he is, heck! He might beat me to the GREATEST MOM in Konoha award:_ Kyuubi feigned shock as she supplied filling in the blank spaces in Naruto's trail of thought.

_: Worried about what Kyuu-chan:_ Naruto asked. Kyuubi merely sweatdropped at Naruto's honest and straightforward response; who in the world could not even get it?!

"Iruka-sensei, you okay? You're food is getting cold." Naruto waved his hand in front of Iruka's face.

"Oh, it's nothing Naruto, why don't you go on ahead; you wouldn't want to be late with your meeting with Hokage-sama. I'll clean up afterwards." Iruka said as he smiled brightly at Naruto. "And by the way, after your meeting with Hokage-sama, why don't we meet by the tea shop near the training grounds."

Naruto tilted his head in question.

"I saw Sakura last night with Ino, Ten-ten and Hinata. They said they wanted to have a picnic with you. Catching up I guess."

Naruto nodded as he prepared to leave. A few moments later and a few nods of "I'm off," Naruto poof-ed out of sight.

Once Naruto arrived at the Hokage Tower, he immediately headed for Tsunade's office. The moment he was given permission to enter, he was surprised to see the toad sannin casually leaning over the window in the Hokage's office. Tsunade wasted no time as she discussed with her surrogate brother what she exactly or should I say what she and Jiraiya discussed an hour earlier.

"Naruto, you will be the captain of the ANBU squad that I have prepared. As for the members, I will be informing them later. I shall call for you to meet with your team mates and discuss your first team assignment later on."

Naruto stood there, dumbfounded to actually hear that Tsunade actually assigned him to become an ANBU captain. Finally gaining some senses, he opened his mouth to ask the slug sannin,

"Anou… Tsunade-nee-chan, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"It's not that I am questioning your decision in appointing me as ANBU captain, but shouldn't there be some sort of tests first? I remember asking Ero-sennin about it before."

Jiraiya practically twitched upon hearing that familiar nickname Naruto coined for him but nevertheless spoke to answer the question for Tsunade.

"Well technically, there is. But given your achievements and based on my first hand experience and that I am fully aware of just how capable you really are, I gave my own recommendation as to have you assigned as captain."

"True, I may not have seen your abilities myself yet but I do trust Jiraiya when it comes to matters such as this. He may be the biggest pervert in the history of shinobi for all he's worth but he doesn't lie when it comes to delicate matters of such importance." Tsunade quipped as Jiraiya proudly nodded in agreement.

Tsunade and Naruto sweatdropped and glared at the said man.

"Well, all that said, why don't you get going? I'm sure there a few more things you want to do and catch up on. I'll send for you later." Tsunade promptly said as Naruto nodded and turned his heel to leave. Once the two sannin were sure that Naruto was out of earshot, they began to talk.

"He sure has changed Jiraiya."

"I told you so. I bet you were expecting him to have been very excited upon hearing that he would be the captain. He's matured Tsunade."

"Yes I was. Somehow, I miss the old brat, but beggars can't be choosers. I know deep down inside him, the old Naruto is still there somewhere. But I do have to say that this change seems good, less of a headache to deal with." Tsunade smiled.

"Well then, I better get going. I still have some resear—"

But even before Jiraiya could finish, Tsunade knew exactly what was up his sleeve and punched him squarely in the face, sending him flying over the rooftops and once again ending up in the onsen district of Konoha. Poor guy…

"Aaah! I feel younger sending that old bag away." Tsunade said as she cracked up her knuckles and neck. Just then, Shizune knocked and entered the Godaime's office.

"Tsunade-sama, I thought I heard Jiraiya-sama." Shizune said as she placed the tea she brought on the desk.

"He just left." Tsunade sat back down and began to sip her tea as another knock resounded a few minutes later.

"Enter." Tsunade commanded.

"Tsunade-sama, you wanted to see me?"

"Kakashi, it's nice that you decided to drop by on time." Tsunade grinned. Kakashi's visible eye just curved upward as he sheepishly scratched the back of is head.

"What is that you wanted to talk to me about Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi started. Tsunade pushed a folder from her desk towards him.

"I want you to tell me what you think."

Kakashi stepped forward and opened the folder to study the contents. The first impression he got as he scanned through the pages was that whoever this person was, was definitely skilled and talented for an 18 year old.

"So?"

"I must say that the person who owns this mission profile is really something. And to think this person is only 18."

"Anyway, with that said, I'm assigning you back as a full time ANBU."

The expression on Kakashi's face was priceless, as Tsunade would like to think.

"No questions asked. I'll send for you later so you could meet up with your new team and brief you guys with your first mission. Now scram, I still have stacks of papers to sign." Tsunade waved her hand dismissively as she started signing papers with much forced enthusiasm. Kakashi sweatdropped and as he was about to turn his heel to leave, Tsunade called for his attention once again.

"Oh, before you go, this is for you." Tsunade reached inside the drawer of her desk and handed Kakashi a neatly wrapped package. The silver-haired jounin eyed the package and glanced at Tsunade, but before he could ask what it is or it was from, the Godaime beat him to it seemingly reading his thoughts. "Just open it."

Kakashi opened the package carefully. His eyes widened, albeit the other one being covered and was surprised by the contents of the package.

It was a navy blue weapon's pouch with the leaf symbol embroidered in silver. Inside was a silver kunai case with his initials beautifully engraved on its smooth surface and along with it was the super special collector's limited edition hardbound Icha-Icha Paradise.

Kakashi looked back at the Hokage, but before he could even voice out the question in his head, Tsunade had beaten him to it.

"It's from our precious blue-eyed blonde."

And Kakashi's eyes widened yet again.

* * *

**- - - - - - - - - - - ****- TBC -**

**- - - - - - - - - - -**

* * *

**Authoress' Notes:**

So, who do you guys think will be in Naruto's team? Got any wild guesses? I'll give you a cookie!

My muse is back. Let's hope she stays longer or better yet, FOR GOOD!

And I know this is short in terms of my long absence but I just can't make it any longer.

And please don't kill me! I promise Kakashi will finally get to meet Naruto on the next chapter! Until then, **reviews please**? It really makes my day and it will help me update faster unless you want me to update after 8 months… (Puts on protective gear and hides from flame throwers, bullets and cannon balls headed her way.)

**Footnotes:**

(1) Imagine the Uzumaki estate in the likes of the Uchiha compound, only smaller since they don't have branch members in the likes the Hyuuga or Uchiha clan.

(2) Translation: This is so good! It's delicious! I missed your cooking!

**- - - - - -**

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	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimers:** I don't own Naruto and the rest of the gang. If I did then Sakura would be dating Rock Lee after the forest of death incident.

**Warning:** Yaoi, Shounen-ai (**Male/Male romance**), OOC major, a lot of swearing I presume would happen along the way… I already mentioned the Yaoi thing right?

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**- - - - - - - - - - **

**Chapter 6**

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"It's from our precious blue-eyed blonde."

Kakashi's heart jumped and was beating madly in his chest. He never thought that he would receive such things from his former student. Several questions were running through his mind, mostly beginning with 'what', 'when' and 'how'. He eyed the items in his hand whilst caressing the silver kunai case in his hand.

His eyes looked back up to Tsunade but before he could say anything, the Godaime spoke, more like 'warned' that was somewhat leaning on to a more considerable '_threatening'_ advise.

"Kakashi, whatever happened between you and Naruto, you better patch it up. Since both of you will be working together in the same team from now on." Tsunade said as she eyed the silver haired jounin warily. "I know that it is none of my business, but I plan to make that brat my successor."

Kakashi nodded. He completely understood what the Godaime meant in her words. He then went out of the office and searched for the blonde boy.

With a soft 'click' of the door, the Godaime let out a heavy sigh as she reclined back to the comfort of her chair.

"Tsunade-sama, do you really think it's wise that you teamed Naruto-kun with Kakashi-san?"

The busty Hokage saw the worried look on her assistant's face.

"I know that Naruto has some _'unsettled'_ issues with Kakashi and teaming them up would make it uneasy for him. But trust me, this is for the best. I'm just putting in my two cents worth in making Naruto's life better." Tsunade said as she looked out the window.

"I hope you're right Tsunade-sama."

And as if on cue, another knock resonated inside the Godaime's office.

"Come in."

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**Somewhere else…**

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The silver-haired jounin leaped from one roof to another. His heart was beating twice faster than normal. In his hand, he still held the silver kunai case.

"_Naruto's back!"_ The thought was playing back and forth in his mind ever since he saw Naruto's mission profile.

To be honest, he was shocked to see the list of the missions he had accomplished. He never saw that one coming but still, he couldn't help but feel his heart swell in pride for his former student, so to say the least.

He found Naruto walking down the street heading towards team 7's old meeting place. He immediately made his way to catch up with the blonde as he landed softly yet silently on bridge facing the blonde's back.

"Thanks for the package, especially the book."

Naruto didn't look up to the owner of the voice.

"You're welcome, I'm glad you liked it." Naruto drawled.

Silence… Long deafening silence was met between the two, only the soft, calming sound of the flowing water beneath them made it bearable.

Kakashi on the other hand, could no longer stand the reticence of Naruto, broke the silent barrier between them.

"What happened to you? Where have you been this past four years?"

"I've been around lately. And I assume you've already seen my mission profile so I guess there is really no need for me to tell you where I have been these past four years." Naruto deadpanned, leaning against the bridge's balustrade, he cast a glance at Kakashi for a second before setting them on the flowing stream ahead.

"I see." Kakashi said. He was inwardly debating whether or not to bring up the topic of their _relationship_. He knew for a fact that it was _**his **_fault. He was guilty of that fact.

"Well, I guess there is nothing more, I should be going." Naruto said casually. As he turned his heel to leave, he felt a hand firmly gripping his arm.

"Naruto… About us… Last time it was -" Kakashi was cut off in mid sentence when Naruto interrupted him.

"Us? The last time I checked, **WE** never had an intimate relationship aside from the student-teacher part Kakashi-_sensei_. There is nothing between us… _**There never was**_…" Naruto deadpanned, his eyes void of emotion yet his voice was laced with venom, stinging the Jounin's heart. And thus he walked away leaving the stunned silver-haired jounin standing on the bridge. Kakashi felt as if he was splashed with a bucket of ice-cold water. He never thought that a simple misunderstanding would change Naruto so dramatically.

Kakashi was taken a back by the coldness of Naruto. He had never expected this coming from the blonde boy.

"_Dear Gods, help me please…"_ Kakashi thought as he stood there on his spot, not able to move a muscle, as he stared at the retreating figure of Naruto.

**- FLASHBACK - **

_Horror._

_Hurt._

_Rage._

_Betrayal._

_Extreme resentment._

_Words were not enough to fully describe how Naruto felt the moment he laid eyes on the mind-numbing scene in front of him. What he had heard was worse from anything else. Sure he did ignore the villagers whenever they had called him names. But this was just too plain unbearable. _

_Right in front of his eyes, just clear enough for his heightened sense of hearing, he heard, he saw Kakashi in the arms of an unknown woman..._

**- END FLASHBACK -**

When Naruto arrived at the little store near the training grounds, he jogged up to where Iruka and his friends were, completely forgetting the incident with Kakashi.

"Kyaa! Naruto! I'm so glad you could make it!" Ino squealed and glomped Naruto as if it was a normal thing they used to do.

"Hey Ino-pig! Get your fat arms off Naruto! Can't you see you're suffocating him?!" Sakura said as she too gave Naruto a hug.

"What did you say forehead girl?! As far as I'm concerned, I don't want to lose my eyesight from that shiny billboard you've been sporting around!" Ino barked back as they started their normal-friendly bickering.

"Anou… Um, Sakura-chan… Ino-chan…" Hinata started as she tried to butt in to stop the two.

"Well, that's the girls for you Naruto, their just very happy to see that you're back." Iruka said as he helped Naruto up.

"So, Naruto, who did Tsunade-sama assign to be with you in your team?" Shikamaru asked lazily, completely ignoring the two bickering girls.

"I'm surprised that you're interested Shika…" Ino voiced out. "I suppose you're going to apply for it, huh?"

"That would mean work Ino." Chouji said.

"Oh, I forgot. Sorry Shika, I forgot how you hate doing something, anything in particular that is…" Ino said as she bit a part of her sandwich.

"I resent that. Work is the greatest thing in the world…so I always save some of it for tomorrow." Shikamaru replied, sipping some of his orange juice. (1)

"And I suppose that you would either be cloud watching or sleeping, huh?" Sasuke asked in sarcasm.

"That is what he would most likely do." Neji answered in an amused tone.

"Hey, I love sleep. My life has a tendency to fall apart when I'm awake." Shikamaru said nonchalantly, not noticing the two pertinent shadows of doom looming over him. (2)

And the next thing everyone knew is that Shikamaru was sporting lump after lump of freshly steaming bumps on his head courtesy of Ino and Sakura. Everyone sweatdropped as they pitied the poor chuunin who was currently twitching like a lizard. Somehow, they now understood what Shikamaru meant by women being such troublesome creatures except for Ten-ten and Hinata of course who were currently poking Shikamaru to see if he was alright.

"Well, that's Shikamaru for you." Kiba said as everyone chuckled.

**- TBC -**

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**Authoress' Notes:**

See how nice I am? It didn't take me 8 months to update...

I would like to thank all those who reviewed! As much as I would like to tie my muse somewhere and bribe her with coffee, and bitch out about not helping me, my muse has the decency to sleep on me and is now snoring like an ogre.

And yes, Itachi and Kakashi **are** on Naruto's team. Who else do you guys think will be in it? It will be a six man team by the way… So who the hell is the other three? Wanna know? Just stick around to find out! And there would be two other surprise characters here that would be making an entrance…

An I know that it is usually a three-man to four-man cell team, but as I recall an episode, some ANBU have five, so in this case, since it's my fic, I'll make it six…which of course has a purpose later on.

I hope this chapter will satisfy your quirks too!

And what exactly did Naruto hear? What is the real score between Kakashi and that unknown woman?

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**Footnotes:**

(1) An excerpt.

(2) Another excerpt by Ernest Hemingway.

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**Blue:** (typing madly, again…) Yosh! Chapter seven in the works!

**Naruto:** I'm amazed on how you can juggle your biohazard life with fic writing…

**Blue:** I'm inspired and at the same time, I'm able to add a few lines and so in every chapter every time I get the opportunity to do so which of course means that I'm probably forgetting that I have to review for the board exams! Oh dear, my poor brain is fried…

**Naruto: **(major sweatdrops) so that means you are sometimes irresponsible, huh?

**Blue:** Nope, just carried away.

**Naruto:** That's basically the same…

**Blue: **(sweatdrops) Naruto, if you badly want to be harassed, pinned, ravished or mobbed by hormone driven shinobis just say so… I have one in the works you know…

**Naruto:** (horrified) you wouldn't dare…

**Blue:** Oh, I would and already have! (Evil cackle, sound of incessant typing on keyboard)

**Naruto: **This is what stress does to sleep deprived authors… **Read and review people!** It would greatly help save her sanity… (Sweatdrops while author laughs evilly in the background)

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	7. Chapter 7

**Warning:** OOC-ness of some of our beloved characters and stand out stoic highnesses. You have been warned!!!

**Authoress' Notes:**

As you guys have noticed on chapter two, there is a character there who is supposed to be dead. Well, in this fic, there will be a few more characters that aren't dead. Why? Because I need them for my story and I don't want them dead for all I care! Plus!!! I made some changes on chapters one, two and four. I corrected some information and changed the name of Naruto's bloodline limit, much to my brain racking experience.

_: Blue… : _- Kyuubi and Naruto talking to each other.

"_Blue." _– Mental thoughts

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**Chapter 7**

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Iruka had returned to the academy for he had to get the assignments he had Genma give the kids. Naruto headed back home after the little get together with all his friends. As he fished the keys from his pockets and entered the house his father had for him. He paced slowly inside the house until he found a nice spot by the window. As he leaned back on the window sill, his mind went back with his earlier conversation with Kakashi.

_: You know kit I think you might have been too harsh with your words with Kakashi. :_

_: What makes you say that Kyuubi? You know what he did. You were there, and I'm sure you heard it as well. :_

_: Yeah I heard it. But we only heard the woman speak; we, or should I say, 'you' never got the chance to hear what Kakashi's response. :_

_: What for? So I could have my already wounded heart and ego shattered into smaller pieces: _

Kyuubi didn't answer to that. True, whatever that could have been said that night would have broken Naruto to pieces. But then again, Kyuubi being Kyuubi, she just knew that something was off somewhere and just couldn't put a finger on in, in her case, claw…

Naruto remained silent as Kyuubi pondered on the thought a little longer. Somewhere deep in Naruto's heart, he agreed on Kyuubi's opinion, but then again, the pain was still there and remained to linger even after four years.

_: I never got to ask kit, but why did get Kakashi a present if you hate him that much? I mean, what for:_

Naruto was silent. He didn't know how to answer the question or better yet, he didn't have the answer to the question. It was something he himself had trouble answering. He had broken up with Kakashi one-sidedly without even bothering on hearing an explanation. Being betrayed by the person you loved and trusted the most was by far the most painful thing in the world.

_: I don't know Kyuu-chan…I don't know. :_

Kyuubi sighed in her cage.

_: You know kit, one of these days you have to confront it with Kakashi. It's inevitable. :_

_: I hope not Kyuu-chan. I'm not yet ready. It still hurts. :_

_: I understand Kit. But you do know I'm always here for you. :_

_: Thanks Kyuubi. :_

_: No need to thank me, kit… There's no need. :_

And with that, they settled in the comfortable silence as Naruto lingered, sitting by the window sill.

"Well, I better head towards Tsunade-nee-san's office." Naruto said to himself as he removed the first layer of his clothing to reveal his ANBU uniform.

----

As the sun has set in the west, Tsunade had called for Naruto to begin the introductions to his new team.

"Are you nervous Naruto?"

"Nee-san, what if they don't like me? Or what if won't get along well with each other?"

"Don't worry about it Naruto, I'm confident that you and your teammates would get along just fine." Tsunade gave Naruto's shoulder a comforting squeeze as a mischievous smirk danced on her lips. Naruto sweatdropped as he suppressed the urge to whine at the woman and ask for any more information.

"_Please, Kami-sama, please don't let my teammates be any deranged pervert."_ Naruto silently prayed.

"Now relax Naruto, your teammates would be here any minute."

Just as those words left Tsunade's lips, a knock resounded as the door opened to reveal two very familiar individuals…

"HAKU!!!1" Naruto exclaimed as he pounced on the ex-Mist shinobi who had just entered Tsunade's office. Upon pouncing on the said shinobi, Naruto continued,

"Howhaveyoubeenhakuyoulookgreatwhatareyoudoinghereinkonohanevermindthatimissedyouimsogladtoseeyou!" the blonde shinobi said all in one go as he gleefully rubbed his cheek against Haku's who landed on his cute ass, never minding the pain as he chuckled at the cute childlike behavior of Naruto who seemed to be clinging on to him for dear life.

"I'm glad to see you too Naruto and as you can see, I've been doing well. And didn't Tsunade-sama tell you that she allowed me and Zabuza to become citizens of Konoha and at the same time serve as shinobi for this village." Haku smiled. How Haku managed to pick up what the blonde said remained a mystery to the other two occupants of the room.

"EH?!" Naruto immediately looked up and just noticed the forehead protectors adorned with the leaf symbol that Haku proudly donned on his forehead as well as Zabuza.

Somewhere in the Hokage Tower…

"Kakashi-san."

"Ah, cut me some slack Itachi and drop the formalities. After all, it looks like we're going to be teammates." Kakashi said as they continued to make their way to Tsunade's office.

"Hn."

Back in the Hokage's office…

"How's it been brat?" Zabuza greeted a shell-shocked Naruto who was still clinging onto Haku and was now staring at him as if he had grown another head.

_: Thank goodness I saw Haku first. : _Naruto inwardly sweatdropped at the mere thought.

_: Yeah, it would have been a weird sight if you were getting 'cheeky' with Zabuza. But then again, he looks nice in Konoha jounin uniform. : _Kyuubi remarked as she rubbed her chin

"Hey Zabuza, you look good in that uniform." Naruto remarked, mirroring Kyuubi's words.

Zabuza grunted in response and huffed out his chest proudly.

"Allow me to translate, 'Thanks.'." Haku and Naruto giggled as Zabuza gave the two a mocking glare. Tsunade on the other hand smiled at their antics. Just then another knock came as the door swung open revealing three more very familiar figures to Naruto's surprise.

The next thing everyone knew was of that two certain shinobis had their swords drawn and swung against the other as the said shinobis' looked fiercely at each other.

"You haven't changed Zabuza. You should have wrapped your whole body in bandages that way I would have mistaken you for a mummy."

"I could say the same. Maybe if you wrapped yourself in Nori2 I would have mistaken you for sushi." Zabuza smirked as they drew back their swords and started laughing.3

"It's good to see you. The last time I heard you were in a group called Akatsuki." Zabuza asked as he maintained his gruff appearance. Kisame waved off his hand and briefly told Zabuza what happened.

"We'll catch up on that later. What are you doing here in the Hokage's office anyway?" Kisame asked, oblivious to the other people inside the room who were staring at them, except for two certain Sharingan users who were glaring at the guy who was currently sitting on the floor with an adorable blonde straddling the said guy's hips. If it were any other person, one would think that something that should be done behind closed doors was happening inside the Hokage's office. Currently, Naruto had his arms around Haku's shoulders and was sitting on his lap with Naruto's legs almost wrapped around his waist.

Finally snapping out of the daze with what had just occurred in the room, Tsunade cleared her throat and gathered their attention.

After realizing what had just happened, Naruto abruptly stood up and helped Haku back to his feet. He then noticed the presence of the other two figures standing by the door.

Kami-sama was not so kind for not answering Naruto's prayers for the choice of teammates: Perverts, yes, definitely. Deranged? Well, slightly in consideration for the two former "Seven Swords"4 members. If Naruto was surprised, his facial expression never showed any. Instead, his face slid in to a mask of indifference as he faced them. Haku and Tsunade noticed the stiffness and sudden change in Naruto's behavior. This of course also went unnoticed by the other two Jounins

Itachi wondered why Naruto suddenly lost the cheerful vibrant side of his bubbling personality. Kakashi on the other hand, knew that he was somewhat responsible for the sudden change of weather.

"_Please don't tell me Kakashi is going to be a part of the team…" _Naruto prayed silently.

Tsunade shook them out of their thoughts as she began to explain why they were summoned,

"I have summoned all of you here today to tell you that the six of you are to be part of a new ANBU team that will work under my direct order and of course, I would like you all to meet and know your team captain, Uzumaki Naruto." Tsunade then tilted her head towards Naruto. The rest of the people inside of Tsunade's office were somewhat surprised or to what it looked remotely close to being surprised.

"Eh?! Really? I can't believe it Naruto!" Haku exclaimed as he glomped a highly blushing and somewhat embarrassed Naruto.

"Hmm… So the chibi is our team captain, huh?" Zabuza spoke first.

"Hey, I may be or somewhat vertically challenged but that doesn't mean I won't be to use your ass to sweep the floor!" Naruto retorted whilst glaring at Zabuza.

"I highly doubt it, especially with those girly hips of yours…" Zabuza pensively said as he eyed and teased the blonde.

Complete silence filled the room for five brief seconds before…

"**WHAT**?" Naruto screeched in a girly-screech kind of way which reverberated within the Hokage's office down to the succeeding floors under the Hokage's office.

And thus the two began throwing a barrage of insults at each other with much intent of defending one's honor so to speak…

On the other hand, while the two continued their _non sequitur_ verbal jousting, the others watched them with highly renewed, morbid fascination.

"Well, I wouldn't question Tsunade-sama's decision but I have to admit that Naruto-kun is quite strong." Kisame closed his eyes in contemplation. "Isn't that right Itachi-san."

"Hn."

Kisame sweatdropped. Well, what did he expect? The moment Itachi did string up together a cluster of colorful words would be the day he finally gotten himself laid. That was in Kisame's opinion. If he even dared to say a word about it he was quite sure that he would become a new recipe at some sushi restaurant in town. The mere thought about it sent dreaded shivers to run up his spine. He was enjoying and loving his new life far too much.

Zabuza and Naruto continued to bicker like kids while Haku tried to calm both of them.

Haku was trying his best to calm two hot-headed men. He even tried using his charms but was completely ignored. It was only then he called for Kisame's attention to help him out as he latched himself on Naruto and placed a foot on Zabuza's chest to keep the two away from each other.

Kakashi on the other hand looked at Naruto with a surprised and longing gaze. Itachi caught this and wondered about what exactly is Kakashi's relationship with Naruto. Was there more aside from the fact that Kakashi was Naruto's former sensei? He just had to ask his otouto when he got back to the Uchiha estate.

Tsunade on the other hand found the situation a bit funny aside from the fact that those two were making a ruckus. It was a new form of entertainment for her, especially since it had been quite a while since she had seen Naruto in such a 'perky' state. But of course, all entertaining shows have their allotted air time and she still had some paperwork to do, not that she was turning a new religion but she just didn't feel seeing it pile up and turn into a another mountain where Shizune would have her slaving the rest of her day. Tsunade tried clearing her throat a couple of times to get their attention. But to no avail. She tried to call out their names and yet again, utter failure… A vein was already threatening to burst as she turned to her last resort unless of course she wanted the windows changed anytime soon.

"URUSAI!!!" Tsunade bellowed out on the wrangling duo as she slammed her hands on the smooth surface of her table making some of the neatly piled papers and scrolls jump slightly at the sudden impact, it was a miracle that her table didn't split in half.

They were finally broken out of their musings when the Hokage's shrill voice almost blew up their eardrums, most likely because no one, especially the bickering two paid her any attention where Haku was already close to doing an acrobatic stance just to keep the two from strangling the life out of the other while Kisame tried to restrain a highly livid Zabuza for reasons better left unsaid. The four of them froze in mid-action to stare at the fuming Hokage while Itachi and Kakashi only turned their heads to look at her while remaining impeccably cool despite being in the same room which was close to being set under fire.

"Do I have your undivided attention now?" It was more stated as a fact more than a question for it promised pain in the very near future if they didn't behave. The four who was being addressed quickly straightened themselves up and nodded their heads eagerly like good little boys about to receive their reward. The look on Tsunade's face was a sure fire hit to rival and make any hard ass Feudal Lord or Yakuza leader to piss their pants off and cower in shame.

It was also the same moment that Jiraiya decided to drop in and check on Naruto and his new team.

"Yo! Did I miss anything?" Jiraiya greeted as he settled himself near Tsunade's right hand side.

"Not much, we were just getting started." Tsunade replied as she took a deep breath and sat back on her chair.

"Hey Ero-sennin, what happened to your eye?" Naruto asked when he noticed the colorful bruise around Jiraiya's right eye. He didn't dare ask why the man was a tad bit pale. He concluded that it had something to do with loosing too much blood somewhere around the hot springs.

Jiraiya harrumphed as he started to explain,

"This," he motioned pointing to his right eye, "was courtesy of the old hag here. She had the decency to…" Jiraiya motioned towards the said woman sitting behind the Hokage's desk but wasn't able to finish his sentence when Tsunade punched-smacked him yet again. The other occupants of the room stood in the room frozen with dumbfounded silence when they saw Jiraiya sail towards the right side wall of the office. 5

Tsunade's fist landed on his left eye this time, which was sure enough to complement the other black eye. Thankfully though, he didn't go sailing through the roofs to land somewhere near the hot springs for the second time that day. The only remaining evidence of the sheer power Tsunade possessed was Jiraiya's silhouette on the cracked and almost crumbling wall. The six other men in the room quickly turned their eyes back to the woman who was massaging her left shoulder.

"I think I just heard a huge sound…" Naruto said in a somewhat shaky voice…

"Ahh, my right hand and shoulder hurts so much that it feels as if I had just punched away the biggest creature in the face of the earth. My right shoulder feels stiff; I must be working myself too hard." Tsunade said as she made rotating movements with her shoulder making a few cracking noises. The occupants of the room sweatdropped, they didn't dare make any comments on that.

Naruto quickly reminded himself just how strong and scary the said woman was especially when pissed off. Naruto also reminded himself that this woman was Sakura's sensei and thus, insert mental picture: Sakura plus a healthy dose of madness equals the power of god.

Being somewhat in the same mainstream with the blonde, Zabuza, Kisame, Kakashi, Itachi and Haku had given the Hokage a new level of respect and at the same time mentally agreed that the said woman and village leader was not someone to be messed with unless they had some serious death wish of some sort, insert mental picture: Tsunade plus being royally pissed off plus "Old Hag" comment equals Judgment Day, a.k.a. Apocalypse now…

"Hmm? Jiraiya what are you doing there?" Tsunade asked nonchalantly as if nothing happened. Naruto, having more experience being around with the two sannin, approached Jiraiya and started poking him to check for any signs of life.

"Oi, Ero-sennin, you okay?" Naruto said asked the slightly dazed sannin.

"Ugh… What happened?" Jiraiya slowly spoke as he touched his left eye where the pain was slowly growing. He then looked at Tsunade accusingly before dropping it off. He didn't want parts of his body go missing any time soon.

"Ne, Ero-sennin how many fingers do you see?"

"Three. Now shut up." Jiraiya said as he stood up and made sure he was more than an arm's length away from the slug-sannin.

The occupants of the room started to discuss about the team dynamics and upcoming missions that they had to take. As Tsunade briefed them of their first team mission which mainly consisted of a two week spying on Orochimaru's movements and taking out a group of bandits and rogue shinobis near the borderline of Konoha and Rice Country, Naruto couldn't help but drift off from the topic from time to time. He was not ready to deal with Kakashi. He knew that the said man had not yet closed the topic between the two of them. He just knew it from the time he turned his back to him at the bridge to the moment he met his eyes when he entered the Godaime's office.

Eventually, after a few more discussions and explanations, Tsunade began to wrap everything up.

_: Kit, snap out of it. Tsunade is about to end the meeting. :_ Kyuubi shook her vessel out his shell back to the real world.

"You will leave for your mission ten days from now. If you have any more questions, voice them out now, if not refer to your captain so he can relay it to me and confirm whatever your concerns might be." Tsunade leveled out after she discussed the facts to them. She had noticed Naruto zoning out from time to time during their discussion and needed to talk to Jiraiya privately.

"Well, if there's nothing else, why don't you lot go somewhere. Do some catching up, more or less do some bonding time."

"Huh?" Naruto eyed Tsunade trying to confirm if heard her right.

"I said, do some "getting to know you" somewhere, probably over dinner since it's close to six in the evening already."

"But we already know each other." Naruto tried to reason.

"Actually I still hadn't had the pleasure of knowing Kisame-san and Itachi-san, since this the first time I've really seen them in person." Haku piped up enthusiastically, quickly crushing Naruto's intentions of spending the rest of the night brooding and plunging himself in some serious conversation with Kyuubi regarding how messed up his life can and would be.

"Well, now that's settled, why don't you guys move along. We'll join you later for a little get together. I heard from Iruka that you and rookies had a little reunion earlier." Jiraiya smiled. He already knew what was going on inside Naruto's head. Jiraiya knew what was going on Tsunade's head at that time. They needed to talk.

"_That kid thinks way too much for his own good."_ Jiraiya said to himself.

All of them bowed to the Hokage and started to file out the room with Haku dragging Naruto along and Kisame pushing the ever stoic Itachi out of the door while he managed to haul Zabuza and Kakashi with him on the way out. Once all of them were out and the door shut close, Tsunade spoke, her eyes glued on the door.

"Did you notice Jiraiya?"

"Yeah, he was spacing out. I want to believe that it's just because he's the captain of the squad and he's a bit nervous because this is the first time he's been given such a responsibility, but he was spacing out more than just once during the whole meeting." Jiraiya said thoughtfully as he recalled the almost troubled expression on his apprentice's face.

"What do you reckon is troubling him?" Tsunade asked.

"I'm not sure about it myself, but at one moment there, he had that same look on his face back when he asked to take him along with me." Jiraiya crossed his arms as he leaned back the wall.

"I was hoping those two had patched things up when I mentioned to Kakashi that Naruto was already back. But from the looks of it, they even haven't made ends meet. Do you think I really made the right decision in putting those two in the same team?" Tsunade sighed.

"Yes you did, in technical terms since both of them were in the same team during Naruto's genin years. Somehow, I believe that those two will work things out no matter how complicated their issues are, they just have to… Tsunade, I've asked you this before, just what exactly was Kakashi and Naruto's relationship was? I have that nagging feeling that _it_ was more than just that teacher-student thing." Jiraiya said as he glanced at Tsunade who was leaning against her desk, with head resting on her delicate interwoven fingers.

"I'm not sure of this myself, but from what I surmise, they were lovers. From the way that Kakashi reacted earlier and how he longingly looked at Naruto the moment he saw him when he entered the room. I have the feeling he's somewhat connected to why Naruto left in the first place." Tsunade deduced as she closing her eyes in deep thought.

"…Kids these days…" Jiraiya shrugged. "Well, we better catch up with them, I get the feeling this will be an interesting night." Jiraiya offered with a smile.

"We better find Shizune, I'm sure she'd love to join and besides, she'll have my hide if I suddenly disappear without telling her." Tsunade shook her head as both she and Jiraiya headed filed out her office.

**----**

**TBC**

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**Authoress' Note (2):**

Again, for those who skived the first note and immediately dived into reading: I made some changes and corrections on chapters one, two and four. Thank you…

Sorry for the long delay in posting this chapter, all I can say is that I was very busy with life. Then again, I was so happy and inspired that I decided to finish this chapter and continue on with Chapter eight. I'll try to limit the angst in pinches too. I do hope the length of this chapter would satiate you guys during those months which I fondly call my sulking period. And besides, my creativity otherwise known as my stupid lazy muse, only stirs up during the wee hours of the morning when everyone is half-dead to the world (which should include me). I'll try to update faster for the love of all of you and Naruto. So for now, excuse me while I have my blissful fangirl moment…

**Now, you know the drill: give me some love and review. **

1 As I've said before, I would be adding already deceased characters in my fic. Why? Because I need them so. Period.

2 Nori – that dried green seaweed thing they use to wrap up sushi…

3 Let's just pretend they're good friends. Chums… Now don't ask me why I made them so.

4 Seven Swords – this was mentioned by Lee when Naruto was teamed with Neji, Tenten and Lee before/during the "Curry of Life" (or something) episode.

5 I deliberately said right side, however if I were to describe it in the POV of the occupants of the room, it would be "he sailed to the left" since it was the direction where their heads turned. (:þ)


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